Annually more than 700,000 visitors come to explore the geological treasures of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Carlsbad Caverns was once the site of an ocean reef. After the waters receded, the area experienced a geologic uplift when the Guadalupe Mountains were formed, which allowed for water to percolate through the buried limestone reef and sedimentary layers creating more than 100 caves with intricate stalactite and stalagmite formations.