Wind Cave National Park - General Park Information

One of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

Wind Cave has always been a world class natural resource. However, it was not until explorers first entered, and then continued to push further underground, that the significance of Wind Cave began to be realized.

When most people think about the importance of Wind Cave they tend to dwell on boxwork and the cave's vast length. Over many years of exploration and mapping, Wind Cave has grown to be one of the world's largest known caves. Currently over 129.35 miles [208.17 km] of passages have been mapped in Wind Cave. This places Wind Cave as the third longest cave in the United States and fourth longest cave in the world. As people explore the cave, they learn more about the geology and formation of the cave, and about how it became the world-class resource that it is today.

Perhaps the most significant ecological change that people have initiated in the Black Hills has been the suppression of wild fires.

American Indian stories dating back centuries speak of a "hole that breathes cool air" in the Black Hills. Cowboys came across a breathing hole in 1881 and the exploration of Wind Cave began. In 1903 Wind Cave became the first cave anywhere in the world to be designated a national park. Cave explorers are still finding new rooms and passages in Wind Cave, the fourth longest cave in the world.

The environmental education programs at Wind Cave National Park help students discover relationships between the mixed grass prairie, the ponderosa pine forest, water, the cave, the plants and animals that live in these environments and themselves.

Climate and weather are not the same! Climate is a general term used to express broad patterns - for example, South Dakota's climate is sunny with warm summers and cold winters. Weather applies to specific movements of air masses, levels of precipitation, and temperature fluctuations at specific times of year--for example, today's weather is partly cloudy.