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'{{Infobox Protected area | name = Wind Cave National Park | iucn_category = II | map = USA relief | map_caption = | location = [[Custer County, South Dakota|Custer County]], [[South Dakota|South Dakota, USA]] | nearest_city = [[Hot Springs, South Dakota]] | lat_d = 43.55635 | long_d = -103.47865 | area = {{convert|28291|acre|0}}<ref name="area">{{NPS area|year=2010|accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref> | established = January 9, 1903 | visitation_num = 577,141 | visitation_year = 2010 | visitation_ref = <ref name="visits">{{NPS visitation|accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref> | governing_body = [[National Park Service]] }} [[Image:Boxwork.jpg|thumb|[[Boxwork]]]][[Image:Bison grazing at Wind Cave.jpg|right|thumb|Bison grazing on prairie grasses]] '''Wind Cave National Park''' is a [[United States]] [[national park]] {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} north of the town of [[Hot Springs, South Dakota|Hot Springs]] in western [[South Dakota]]. Established in 1903 by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], it was the seventh U.S. National Park and the first [[cave]] to be designated a national park anywhere in the world. The cave is notable for its displays of the [[calcite]] formation known as [[boxwork]]. Approximately 95 percent of the world's discovered boxwork formations are found in Wind Cave. Wind Cave is also known for its [[frostwork]]. The cave is also considered a three-dimensional ''maze cave'', recognized as the densest (most passage volume per mi³) cave system in the world. The cave is currently the fifth-longest in the world with {{convert|136.55|mi|km|2}} of explored cave passageways, with an average of four new miles of cave being discovered each year. Above ground, the park includes the largest remaining natural mixed-grass [[prairie]] in the United States. ==Early discovery and exploration== The [[Lakota people|Lakota]] ([[Sioux]]), Indigenous People who live in the [[Black Hills]] of South Dakota, spoke of a hole that blew air, a place they consider [[sacred]] as the site where The Lakota first emerged from the underworld where they lived before the [[demiurge]] [[creation myth#Lakota|creation of the world]]. The first documented [[Discovery (observation)|discovery]] of the cave by early explorers was in 1881 by brothers Tom and Jesse Bingham. They heard a sound of wind rushing out from a {{convert|10|in|cm|0|adj=on}} by {{convert|14|in|cm|0|adj=on}} hole in the ground. According to the story, when Tom looked down into the hole, the wind was blowing out so hard that it blew his hat off of his head.<ref name=brochure>Wind Cave brochure, National Park Service, GPO, WDC</ref> The wind they heard and felt explains the cave's name. The wind moves depending on [[atmospheric pressure]] on the surface and inside the cave. When the pressure is higher outside than inside the cave, wind rushes into the entrances; when pressure is higher inside the cave, the wind barrels out of the entrances.<ref name=brochure/> Since the re-discovery of the cave in 1881 by explorers, few people ventured more than a few feet (meters) into Wind Cave, but it wasn't until the early 1890s, when a 16 year old boy named [[Alvin McDonald]] began exploring, that Wind Cave was discovered to extend beyond the original hole. Alvin McDonald's father, J.D. McDonald, was employed by the South Dakota Mining Company to find [[gold]] in the cave, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Instead, an opportunity was discovered to send tours into the cave. These early tours explored the cave by candlelight and by crawling through some sometimes narrow passageways. Like the nearby [[Jewel Cave National Monument]], currently the second longest cave, Herb and Jan Conn played an important role in cave exploration during the 1960s. ==Surface resources== [[File:Wind Cave Natural Entrance.jpg|thumb|right|A [[United States]] [[National Park]] [[Park Ranger|ranger]] stands at the natural entrance of '''Wind Cave'''.]] Wind Cave National Park protects a [[diverse]] [[ecosystem]] with eastern and western plant and animal species. Some of the more visible animals include [[elk]] (also called ''wapiti''), [[American Bison|bison]], black-footed ferrets, [[pronghorn antelope]] and [[prairie dogs]]. The [[Wind Cave Bison Herd]] is one of only four free-roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the [[Yellowstone Park Bison Herd]], the [[Henry Mountains Bison Herd]] in [[Utah]] and on Elk Island in [[Alberta, Canada]]. The Wind Cave Bison Herd is currently [[brucellosis]]-free.<ref name=brochure/> Several roads run through the park and there are {{convert|30|mi|km|0}} of hiking trails, so almost the entire park is accessible. The park had an estimated 577,141 visitors in 2010.<ref name="visits"/> The Wind Cave Visitor Center features three exhibit rooms about the [[geology]] of the caves and early cave history, the park's wildlife and natural history, and the work of the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] in the park. The 18-minute movie "Wind Cave: One Park, Two Worlds" is shown throughout the day, and slide and video programs are also shown. The center is open year round except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. All cave tours leave from the visitor center. Elk Mountain Campground, located in a [[Pinus ponderosa|ponderosa pine]] forest, is about {{convert|1.25|mi|km}} from the visitor center. There are 75 sites for tents and recreational vehicles. It is open year round with campfire programs offered in the summer and limited services available in the winter.<ref name=brochure/> ==See also== * [[Wind Cave Bison Herd]] * [[Jewel Cave National Monument]] * [[Lehman Caves]] * [[Mammoth Cave National Park]] * [[Oregon Caves National Monument]] * [[Russell Cave National Monument]] * [[Timpanogos Cave National Monument]] * [[humps ur mom]] ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{commons category}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/wica |title=Wind Cave National Park |publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2011-07-04}} {{National parks of the United States}} {{Protected Areas of South Dakota}} [[Category:Archaeological sites in South Dakota]] [[Category:Black Hills]] [[Category:Caves of South Dakota]] [[Category:Wind Cave National Park]] [[Category:Native American archeology]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1903]] [[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in South Dakota]] [[Category:Protected areas of Custer County, South Dakota]] [[cs:Větrná jeskyně]] [[de:Wind-Cave-Nationalpark]] [[es:Parque Nacional Wind Cave]] [[fa:پارک ملی غار بادی]] [[fr:Parc national de Wind Cave]] [[hr:Nacionalni park Wind Cave]] [[nl:Nationaal park Wind Cave]] [[ja:ウインドケーブ国立公園]] [[no:Wind Cave nasjonalpark]] [[pl:Park Narodowy Wind Cave]] [[pt:Parque Nacional de Wind Cave]] [[fi:Wind Caven kansallispuisto]] [[sv:Wind Cave nationalpark]]'