Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Features of karst are visible above and below the ground. The most common are
caves.
Groundwater creates caves by flowing through the soluble rock and dissolving holes in-
to it. At some point after this occurs, the water table level changes. The large holes in
the rock remain, but they're no longer filled with water. Very large caves, or systems of
connected caves, are called
caverns.
The interior of a large cavern is featured in this
topic's color photo section.
Drip, drip, dripping: The formation of dripstones
Dripstones,
found inside caves and caverns, form as water drips from the cave ceiling.
They look like icicles of rock, growing longer with each drop. They grow because the
dripping water contains dissolved minerals that it leaves behind.
Two types of dripstones exist:
Stalactites:
These icicle-like dripstones grow from the ceiling of a cave.
Stalagmites:
Stalagmites grow upward from the floor of a cave, directly beneath
stalactites. The same dripping water that creates stalactites falls down to the cave
floor, depositing minerals that form a stalagmite.
