The great size and beauty of limestone caves have made them features of public amazement and wonder. More than 130 caves in the United States are open commercially, and at least 13 national parks and monuments contain caves. The world's longest cave appears to be Kentucky's Mammoth Cave which has more than 240 kilometers (150 miles) of accessible passages. The largest subterranean chamber yet discovered is the Big Room of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns. The Big Room is about 400 meters (1,312 feet) long, 200 meters (656 feet) wide, 90 meters (295 feet) high, and contains the Great Dome, a stalagmite 19 meters (62 feet) tall. Gouffre Berger Cave near Grenoble, France, descends at least 1,100 meters (3,680 feet) below the surface and is the deepest cave yet explored by man. Records of the National Speleological Society of America indicate more than 11,000 caves in the United States, and it appears likely that 100,000 caves exist in the whole earth.
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