Photo by Art Palmer

Southern Comfort

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.