Cave Formations

Cave Formations
By: Cave Spelunking

There are more than a dozen differently named cave formations. The collective term for all of them is "speleothems," much like the collective term for blooms is "flowers." The best-known cave formations are stalactites and stalagmites.

Stalactites are the icicle shaped rock-like formations that hang from the ceiling of cave chambers. All of them began ages ago with a single drop of water and all of them have a central hallow tube.

Stalagmites might be thought of as the children of stalactites. They are formed by water dripping off of the parent stalactite. Stalagmites are smoother than stalactites, and they don't have a hallow tube at their center.

A column is a speleothem that's formed when the stalagmite grows upward and the parent stalactite grows downward until the two meet and grow together to form a column.

Helictites are another speleothem, and the best minds in the scientific world still can't explain them. They remain a mystery. They look a great deal like a tree root that is growing in all directions in search of water. Helictites are the most delicate and most beautiful of the cave formations.

One of the more interesting speleothem is the Gypsum Flower. Gypsum is a mineral made up of calcium and sulfur. Gypsum forms in the dry areas of the cave. It forms a crust that reflects light and makes it appear to sparkle. Gypsum Flowers are twisted projections that don't require any support. Usually they are about a foot in length. They're very fragile and sometimes fall from their own weight. Native Americans harvested gypsum and used it as paint for their faces and body and also for medical purposes.

All of the apparent magic afforded to modern-day scientists still can't unlock many of the mysterious formations in caves.

Rock On & Keep Spelunking...
Cave Spelunking.

How Caves Are Formed

How Caves Are Formed

By: Cave Spelunking

All solution caves are formed in basically the same way. While wind can have some effect on cave formation, wind isn't really responsible for making the caves themselves. Caves are formed by water.

The purest of moving water is a powerful force when the water picks up eroding chemicals along the way, it becomes an even more powerful force. Caves are carved out of rock by water.

Let's talk about the caves that are formed in the limestone layers of the earth, since they are the most common. Limestone is a porous rock that will dissolve in water that's been enriched with carbonic acid. So here's what happens.

Over many, many, many centuries, rain falls and mixes with plant material, where it picks up carbon dioxide. Water and carbon dioxide combine to form carbonic acid. The water, now containing carbonic acid, trickles down through the earth to the water table. The water table is sometimes called "groundwater."

Now, the groundwater also contains carbonic acid. The groundwater finds tiny pores and cracks in the limestone layer and slowly begins to dissolve the limestone. The cracks get bigger and bigger and become chambers.

Time marches on. Eons pass, and this erosion process continues. Larger and larger crevices and passages are formed for the water to flow through.

Chambers and passageways are formed in all shapes and sizes. Some are small and narrow, but others can be very low and wide, or they can be high and narrow. There are passages and chambers that are large enough to drive an 18-wheeler through, and there are chambers big enough to fit an entire NFL football stadium, and then there are chambers and passageways that aren't large enough for a child to crawl through.

Caves are all completely unique. There are no two exactly alike anywhere on Earth.

Rock On & Keep Spelunking...

Cave Spelunking.