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'{{Infobox Protected area | name = Wind Cave National Park | iucn_category = II | map = USA relief | map_caption = | label_position = right | label = Wind Cave | mark = Gfi-set01-cave.svg | 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 | established = January 9, 1903 | area = {{convert|33,847|acre|sqmi ha}}<ref name="area">{{NPS area|year=2011|accessdate={{date|2012-03-07|mdy}}}}</ref> | visitation_num = 538,394 | visitation_year = 2011 | visitation_ref = <ref name="visits">{{NPS Visitation|accessdate={{date|2012-03-07|mdy}}}}</ref> | governing_body = [[National Park Service]] }} {{Black Hills and Badlands}} [[File:Calcite boxwork, Wind Cave.jpg|thumb|Calcite [[boxwork]] from Wind Cave. This boxwork is the result of differential dissolution of intensely fractured and veined [[limestone]] during cave formation. ]] [[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 cubic mile) cave system in the world. The cave is currently the [[List of longest caves|sixth-longest in the world]] with {{convert|140.47|mi|km|2}} of explored cave passageways,<ref name="Gulden">{{cite web | author = Bob Gulden | title = Worlds longest caves | publisher = [[National Speleological Society]] (NSS) | work = Geo2 Committee on Long and Deep Caves | url = http://www.caverbob.com/wlong.htm | date = {{Date|2013-05-13|mdy}} | accessdate = {{Date|2013-06-12|mdy}}}}</ref> with an average of four new miles of cave being discovered each year.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} Above ground, the park includes the largest remaining natural mixed-grass [[prairie]] in the United States. ==Early knowledge== The [[Lakota people|Lakota]], [[Cheyenne]], and other [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American tribes]] who traveled through the area were aware of the cave's existence, as were early Euro-American settlers, but there has been no evidence yet discovered that anyone actually entered it.<ref name="NPSexplorers">http://www.nps.gov/wica/historyculture/early-cave-explorers.htm</ref> The Lakota ([[Sioux]]), an indigenous people who live in the [[Black Hills]] region of South Dakota, spoke of a hole that blew air, a place they consider [[sacred]] as the site where they first emerged from the underworld where they had lived before the [[demiurge]] [[creation myth#Lakota|creation of the world]].<ref name="NPSexplorers"/> The first documented [[Discovery (observation)|discovery]] of the cave by [[White American]]s was in 1881, when the brothers Tom and Jesse Bingham heard 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 into the hole, the "wind" (exiting cave air) blew his hat off of his head.<ref name="brochure">Wind Cave brochure, National Park Service, GPO, WDC</ref> ==Source of cave's name== Caves are said to "breathe," that is, air continually moves into or out of a cave, equalizing the [[atmospheric pressure]] of the cave and the outside air. When the air pressure is higher outside the cave than in it, air flows into the cave, raising cave's pressure to match the outside pressure. When the air pressure inside the cave is higher than outside it, air flows out of it, lowering the air pressure within the cave.<ref name="brochure" /> A large cave (such as Wind Cave) with only a few small openings will "breathe" more obviously than a small cave with many large openings. Rapid weather changes, accompanied by rapid barometric changes, are a feature of Western South Dakota weather. If a fast-moving storm was approaching on the day the Bingham brothers found the cave, the atmospheric pressure would have been dropping fast, causing the cave's higher-pressure air to rush out all available openings, creating the "wind" for which Wind Cave was named. ==Early exploration and tours== From 1881 to 1889, few people ventured far into Wind Cave. Then in 1889 the South Dakota Mining Company hired Jesse D. McDonald to oversee their "mining claim" on the cave site. The South Dakota Mining Company may have hoped to find minerals of value, or it may from the start have had commercial development of the cave in mind.<ref>http://www.nps.gov/wica/historyculture/alvin_mcdonald.htm</ref> No valuable mineral deposits were found, and the McDonald family began developing the cave for tourism. Jesse initially hired his son Alvin (age 16 in 1890) and, beginning in 1891, Alvin's brother Elmer, to explore and help develop the cave.<ref>McDonald, Alvin Frank. A Private Account of A. F. McDonald, Permanent Guide of Wind Cave (a.k.a. "Alvin McDonald Diary," written 1891-1893). Facsimile ed., no pub. data. Sold through Wind Cave National Park. Financial entries, pp. 20-21 and 23-25.</ref> Alvin fell in love with the cave and kept a cave diary.<ref>http://www.nps.gov/wica/historyculture/alvin-mcdonalds-diary-text.htm</ref> Others who worked at Wind Cave and helped explore it between 1890 and 1903 include Katie Stabler, Emma McDonald (Elmer's wife), Inez McDonald (Emma and Elmer's daughter), and Tommy McDonald (brother of Elmer and Alvin).<ref name="NPSexplorers"/> By February 1892 the cave was open for visitors;<ref>McDonald, Alvin Frank. A Private Account of A. F. McDonald, Permanent Guide of Wind Cave (a.k.a. "Alvin McDonald Diary," written 1891-1893). Facsimile ed., no pub. data. Sold through Wind Cave National Park. Financial entries, p. 9</ref> the standard tour fee was apparently $1.00,<ref>McDonald, Alvin Frank. A Private Account of A. F. McDonald, Permanent Guide of Wind Cave (a.k.a. "Alvin McDonald Diary," written 1891-1893). Facsimile ed., no pub. data. Sold through Wind Cave National Park. Financial entries, p. 8-9</ref> which was a significant sum of money at the time. Tourists, with their guide, explored the cave by candlelight. These early tours were physically demanding and sometimes involved crawling through narrow passages. Like the nearby [[Jewel Cave National Monument]], currently the third 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]] 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. Elk Mountain Campground, located in a [[Pinus ponderosa|ponderosa pine]] forest, is about {{convert|1.25|mi|km|1}} 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" /> As of March 2013, the campground has been closed due to budget cuts stemming from [[Budget sequestration in 2013|the United States budget sequestration]] law. However, the decision to close the campground was reversed, and it has been available since May&nbsp;24, 2013.<ref>{{cite news | first = Mary | last = Garrigan | title = Elk Mountain campground reopens May 24 | date = 8 May 2013 | url = http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/elk-mountain-campground-reopens-may/article_2667017a-a261-554b-9453-92137abb2775.html | work = Rapid City Journal | accessdate = 2013-06-12}}</ref> One campground loop remains closed, and there are no evening programs in the campground amphitheater. ==See also== * [[Jewel Cave National Monument]] * [[Great Basin National Park]] (Lehman Caves) * [[Mammoth Cave National Park]] * [[Oregon Caves National Monument]] * [[Russell Cave National Monument]] * [[Timpanogos Cave National Monument]] ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{Sister project links|wikt=no|commons=Category:Wind Cave National Park|b=no|n=no|q=no|s=no|v=no|voy=Wind Cave National Park|species=no|d=no}} *[http://www.nps.gov/wica National Park Service.org: Official '''Wind Cave National Park''' website] {{commons category|Wind Cave National Park|position=left}} {{National parks of the United States}} {{Black Hills, South Dakota}} {{Protected Areas of South Dakota}} [[Category:Wind Cave National Park| ]] [[Category:National parks in South Dakota]] [[Category:Black Hills]] [[Category:Caves of South Dakota]] [[Category:Protected areas of Custer County, South Dakota]] [[Category:Archaeological sites in South Dakota]] [[Category:Native American archeology]] [[Category:Blowholes]] [[Category:1903 establishments in South Dakota]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1903]] [[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in South Dakota]] [[Category:National parks of the United States]] [[Category:Landforms of Custer County, South Dakota]]'