Lechuguilla Cave ( New Mexico, USA) is one of the most beautiful caves on Earth. Since its discovery in 1986, more than 240 kilometers of cave has been explored – with no end in sight. Owing to its geologic setting and unusual process of formation, the cave contains a remarkable diversity of rare minerals and formations, which have helped change our understanding of how caves form and the microbial life they can contain.
In this book, the most active explorers of the cave show the features that made it famous and reveal new discoveries in terms of beauty, scale, and science. Through their writing and photography, they take the reader on their journey of preparing for, and exploring, this remarkable cave. They describe how to successfully live and work in the underground, and highlight the challenges that must be overcome to discover and map new passages. An explanation of how the stunning imagery is captured takes the reader along in this visual journey of Discoveries in a Hidden Splendor. Finally, the extraordinary lengths undertaken to conserve Lechuguilla are illustrated, and how such efforts go hand-in-hand with exploration and photography to reveal the intriguing nature of this wonder of the underground.
Contents:Hidden Splendor (opening statement) / Fragile Beauty (foreword) / Greatness (foreword) / Beginnings (introduction and editors’ preface) / Discoveries / Speleogenesis / Speleothems / Water / Hidden Life / Preparation / Camp Life / Exploration / Mapping Mazes / Photographing Darkness / Rescue / Conservation / Best of the Best (closing remarks) / Fact Sheet / Bibliography / Contributors
Editors:Max Wisshak and Hazel A. Barton
Forewords and Afterword:Jonathan B. Jarvis, Rodney D. Horrocks, Peter Bosted, and Dale L. Pate
Text:Stan Allison, Andy Armstrong, Bonny Armstrong, Hazel A. Barton, Catherine H. Borer, Peter Bosted, Derek C. Bristol, Paul A. Burger, Beth Cortright, Jennifer Foote, Arthur J. Fortini, Donald G. Davis, Kevin Downey, Harvey R. DuChene, James F. Hunter, Daniel S. Jones, John T. M. Lyles, Aria A. Mildice, Arthur N. Palmer, Patricia E. Seiser, Jake Turin, Doug Warner, and Max Wisshak
Photos:Andy Armstrong, Bonny Armstrong, Daniel C. Austin, Hazel A. Barton, Peter Bosted, Derek C. Bristol, Dave E. Bunnell, Daniel Chailloux, Stephen Eginoire, Jennifer Foote, Kevin Downey, Rodolfo González, James F. Hunter, Brian K. Kendrick, Jean Krejca, John T. M. Lyles, Michel Renda, Robbie Shone, Rainer Straub, and Max Wisshak
Publisher:speleo-photo editions 2022
- 240 pages
- 258 color photos und 7 graphs
- Double-foldout page with 3D model of the cave
- Hardcover 22.5 x 30.5 cm
- 5-color offset print on coated matt premium paper
- Carbon-neutral production
 "Lechuguilla Cave: Discoveries in a Hidden Splendor")
