Established 7/1/1941 Size 52,830.19 acres (213.8 km2) With 392 miles (631 km) of passageways mapped, Mammoth Cave is by far the world's longest cave system. Cave animals include eight bat species, Kentucky cave shrimp, Northern cavefish, and cave salamanders. Above ground, the park contains Green River (Kentucky), 70 miles of hiking trails, sinkholes, and springs.[46]
Mammoth Cave National Park is a national park in south-central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world. The park's 52,830 acres (21,380 ha) are located primarily in Edmonson County, with small areas extending eastward into Hart and Barren counties. The Green River runs through the park, with a tributary called the Nolin River feeding into the Green just inside the park.
The cave system has formally been known as the Mammoth–Flint Ridge Cave System since 1972, when a connection was discovered between Mammoth Cave and the even-longer system under Flint Ridge to the north.[3] As of 2022, more than 426 miles (686 km) passageways had been surveyed,[4][5] over 1.5 times longer than the second-longest cave system, Mexico's Sac Actun underwater cave.[6]
The park was established as a national park on July 1, 1941, after oft-contentious eminent-domain proceedings whose consequences still affect the region. It was named a World Heritage Site on October 27, 1981; an international Biosphere Reserve on September 26, 1990; and an International Dark Sky Park on October 28, 2021.