ARE STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES ALWAYS FOUND IN PAIRS?

No, stalactites and stalagmites can occur singly. However, it is true that stalagmites are usually formed on the ground from the same drip source that creates a stalactite on the ceiling of the cave. The simplest stalactite takes the form of a thin straw. As more and more of the mineral calcite is deposited, the downward growth takes the form of a cone. The calcite drip that reaches the ground forms a stalagmite, a bit like a spike with a rounded tip. It is possible that, over time, the stalagmite and stalactite may meet to form a column that extends from floor to ceiling.

Stalagmites have thicker proportions and grow up on the bottom of a cavern from the same drip-water source, the mineral from which is deposited after the water droplet falls across the open space in the rock. Not every stalactite has a complementary stalagmite, and many of the latter may have no stalactite above them. Where the paired relation exists, however, continual elongation of one or both may eventually result in a junction and the formation of a column.

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WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE DOOLIN CAVE OF IRELAND?

Poll-an-lonain, a limestone cave in Doolin, Ireland, has the longest known free-hanging stalactite in Europe. It is 7.3 m in length and is known as the Great Stalactite. The cave was discovered in 1952 and it is assumed that the Great Stalactite was formed over thousands and thousands of years. The Doolin Cave opened to the public in 2006.

Doolin Caves (or Poll-an-Ionain) is a limestone cave near Doolin in County Clare, Ireland, on the western edge of The Burren. The cave is accessible as a show cave and is marketed as Doolin Cave.

The cave was discovered in 1952 by J. M. Dickenson and Brian Varley of Craven Pothole Club, an English caving club based in the Yorkshire Dales. Doolin Cave is member of the Burren Eco-tourism network and holds a gold award from Eco-tourism Ireland for standards of excellence in sustainable tourism.

Doolin Cave is home to the Great Stalactite. At 7.3 metres (23feet) it is the longest free-hanging stalactite in the Northern Hemisphere. The Great Stalactite, suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier, is truly astounding. Visitors can hardly believe that it was formed from a single drop of water over thousands of years.

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WHICH IS THE LONGEST STALACTITE IN THE WORLD?

The 8.2-m-long limestone stalactite thought to be the longest in the world is in Jeita Grotto, a limestone cave complex, 18 km north of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. It was discovered in 1836.

Jeita grotto, a monumental underground karstic wonderland and also the water source for over a million citizens of Beirut, is about 18 kilometers north of the Lebanese capital. It is an extraordinary site which could be one of the wonders of the world but remains an intimate experience. It is a system of two separate, but interconnected, karstic limestone caves spanning an overall length of nearly 9 kilometres, making it the longest cave system in the Middle East. The Lower Cave is home to an underground river some 6.2 kilometers long, while the Upper Cave features innumerable dazzling rock formations including one of the largest hanging stalactites in the world, measuring 8.2 metres (27 feet).

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CAN STALACTITES APPEAR UNDERWATER?

Yes, stalactites, also called ‘hanging speleothems’, have been found underwater, for example the Hells Bells in Mexico. They are hollow structures that expand conically downwards. In addition to the carbonate that builds stalactites and stalagmites, bacteria and algae help in the formation of these underwater stalactites.

Hanging speleothems, also called stalactites, develop through physicochemical processes in which calcium carbonate-rich water dries up. Normally, they rejuvenate and form a tip at the lower end from which drops of water fall to the cave floor. The formations in the El Zapote cave, which are up to two metres long, expand conically downward and are hollow, with round, elliptical or horseshoe-shaped cross-sections. Not only are they unique in shape and size, but also their mode of growth, according to Prof. Stinnesbeck. They grow in a lightless environment near the base of a 30 m freshwater unit immediately above a zone of oxygen-depleted and sulfide-rich toxic saltwater.

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HOW OLD ARE THE OLDEST STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES?

Limestone stalactites and stalagmites are formed extremely slowly: possibly only about 10 cm over a thousand years. Scientific studies have shown some to be very old, forming for as long as 190,000 years!

Stalactites form when water containing dissolved calcium bicarbonate from the limestone rock drips from the ceiling of a cave. As the water comes into contact with the air, some of the calcium bicarbonate precipitates back into limestone to form a tiny ring, which gradually elongates to form a stalactite.

Stalagmites grow upwards from the drips that fall to the floor. They spread outwards more, so they have a wider, flatter shape than stalactites, but they gain mass at roughly the same rate. Limestone stalactites form extremely slowly – usually less than 10cm every thousand years – and radiometric dating has shown that some are over 190,000 years old.

Stalactites can also form by a different chemical process when water drips through concrete, and this is much faster. Stalactites under concrete bridges can grow as fast as a centimetre per year.

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WHAT IS THE STUDY OF CAVES CALLED?

 

Speleology, scientific discipline that is concerned with all aspects of caves and cave systems. Exploration and description of caves and their features are the principal focus of speleology, but much work on the chemical solution of limestone, rates of formation of stalagmites and stalactites, the influence of groundwater and hydrologic conditions generally, and on modes of cave development has been accomplished within this discipline. Speleology requires, essentially, the application of geological and hydrological knowledge to problems associated with underground cavern systems. Amateur exploration of caves, as a hobby, is called spelunking.

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WHAT IS THE EXPLORATION OF CAVES CALLED?

Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.

The challenges involved in caving vary according to the cave being visited; in addition to the total absence of light beyond the entrance, negotiating pitches, squeezes, and water hazards can be difficult. Cave diving is a distinct, and more hazardous, sub-speciality undertaken by a small minority of technically proficient cavers. In an area of overlap between recreational pursuit and scientific study, the most devoted and serious-minded cavers become accomplished at the surveying and mapping of caves and the formal publication of their efforts. These are usually published freely and publicly, especially in the UK and other European countries, although in the US, these are generally private.

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WHAT DO THE WORDS ‘STALACTITE’ AND ‘STALAGMITE’ MEAN?

Both ‘stalactite’ and ‘stalagmite’ originate from the Greek word stalassein meaning ‘to drip’. The first use of both words goes back to the 17th century. Both stalactites and stalagmites are also called dripstones as they form from minerals in dripping water.

Stalactites are the mineral formations that hang down like rock icicles, while stalagmites rise up from the floor. The word stalactite comes from the Greek word for "dripping," stalaktos, which in turn comes from the verb stalassein, "to trickle," which is how stalactites are formed. Water comes down through the top of the cave, bringing rock minerals with it that eventually form those pointy stalactites.

A stalagmite is the pointed formation that rises from the floor of a cave. When you go spelunking, or cave exploring, you'll have to avoid the areas where stalagmites have formed.

Stalagmites are thin piles of mineral deposits that have fallen from the roof to the floor of a cave. They're sometimes connected to the stalactites that dangle down from the top. Because stalagmites form from drops of water combined with minerals, they get their name from the Greek stalagmos, "a dropping," and share a root with stalactite — the Greek stalassein, "to trickle."

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HOW DO CAVES FORM?

The most widely seen caves are formed in limestone, dolomite or rock gypsum. When it rains, rainwater and carbon dioxide in the air combine to form a mildly acidic solution, which seeps into the ground, dissolving the calcite in these rocks to create cavities underground. The crashing of waves against cliffs along a coastline also carves out caves. Caves can form in volcanic lava as the outer layer cools and hardens while the lava underneath continves to flow and drains away, leaving a hollow. Earthquakes can also crack rocks and create caves.

Round Spring Cave is found in a kind of rock called dolomite. It is similar to limestone. Like limestone, dolomite is formed at the bottom of the sea. This part of Missouri was covered by the sea. Later on, forces from inside the earth pushed up the sea bottom to make the Ozarks. These forces, pushing up on the rock layers, cracked the dolomite, much like a baseball hitting a window cracks the glass. These cracks are called joints. This was the very start of Round Spring Cave, and it happened just as the dinosaurs started to roam the Earth.

As rainwater fell on the ground, it picked up a small amount of acid from the rotting leaves. This acid, called carbonic acid, is the same thing that gives soda pop its fizz. This acidic water can dissolve holes in dolomite. Below the water table, the rock was filled with this acidic water. Between the layers of rock and inside the joints, the water slowly dissolved away the rock. This made a large water-filled space. As the Current River cut its river valley, it cut down through the rock layers until it opened up the cave. This let the water out and gave us an air-filled cave.

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WHAT ARE STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES?

Over time stalactites, icicle-shaped structures, form and hang from the roof, while on the cave floor the mineral deposits accumulate to form tall cones, called stalagmites.

Stalactite and stalagmite, elongated forms of various minerals deposited from solution by slowly dripping water. A stalactite hangs like an icicle from the ceiling or sides of a cavern. A stalagmite appears like an inverted stalactite, rising from the floor of a cavern.

Stalactites hanging from the ceilings of caverns commonly exhibit a central tube or the trace of a former tube whose diameter is that of a drop of water hanging by surface tension. A drop on the tip of a growing stalactite leaves a deposit only around its rim. Downward growth of the rim makes the tube. The simplest stalactite form, therefore, is a thin-walled stone straw, and these fragile forms may reach lengths of 0.5 m (20 inches) or more where air currents have not seriously disturbed the growth. The more common form is a downward-tapering cone and is simply a thickening of the straw type by mineral deposition from a film of water descending the exterior of the pendant.

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DO CAVES SUPPORT ANY LIFE FORMS?

There are life forms, such as cavefish, that are specially adapted to life inside a cave. Some insects, salamanders, frogs and snakes prefer life in a cave but can also live outside. Others animals like bats, bears, etc, use caves to shelter in.

There are caves all over the planet, but only a few have been explored. These dark spaces are sheltered from the weather and provide a steady temperature, making them ideal homes for an enormous diversity of life.

Animals that are adapted to live in caves are known as troglofauna. Some - such as bats, bears and swiftlets - use caves on a temporary basis. Others reside there permanently, living out their entire life cycles in the dark - but many have evolved special abilities to help them survive in their food- and light-limited habitats.

Some animals use caves as part-time homes. Bats and swiftlets use them to roost during the day and night respectively. In some caves there can be as many as 20 million bats in residence. By foraging outside of caves for insects and fruits, part-time cave residents provide for those that never leave.

Like other habitats, caves have their own food chain. The detritivores rely on bat faeces and are consumed by the next level of predators, such as spiders and pseudoscorpions. Centipedes and cave boas are often the top predators in these underground environments. The snakes are specially adapted to be able to catch swiftlet and bats as they fly past.

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WHAT IS A POLJE?

Over time, a cave may slowly corrode to such an extent that the roof is unable to withstand the weight of the soil above and collapses. The large hole in the ground that results is called a polje.

Polje, (Serbo-Croatian: “field”), elongated basin having a flat floor and steep walls; it is formed by the coalescence of several sinkholes. The basins often cover 250 square km (about 100 square miles) and may expose “disappearing streams.” Most such basins have steep enclosing walls that range from 50 to 100 m (165 to 330 feet) in height, giving rise to the name “blind valley.” The flat floor of a polje is characteristically covered with a soil composed of the residues of limestone solution. These areas may constitute the only arable part of the rock wasteland in a karst region.

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WHAT ARE GLACIER CAVES?

Glacier caves, or ice caves, form inside a glacier as water enters through cracks and crevices in the ice. This water slowly melts and erodes the ice within the glacier, enlarging the cracks, sometimes creating long tunnels leading right down to its base.

Sometimes, melting at the margin of a glacier may cause small caves to form within the ice, between the ice and the bedrock, or between the ice and the sediment beneath it. Ice caves can also form where water exits from beneath the glacier or where the ice flows over a large bump its bed.

Glacier ice caves are cold, with icy water dripping from their roofs. Sometimes, rocks and debris that the glacier has picked up melt out and drop into the caves. People interested in exploring ice caves should wear helmets, as they would in other kinds of caves.

Glacier Ice Caves are sometimes referred to as "ice caves", but the term ice caves is more commonly used for caves in rock which contain ice year-round.

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WHICH IS THE DEEPEST KNOWN CAVE?

With a staggering depth of 2,197 meters (7,208 feet), Krubera Cave is the deepest known cave in the world.

Considered “the Everest of caves,” the vast cavern, also known as Voronya or Voronja Cave, is located in the Arabika Massif. Arabika Massif is on the edge of the Black Sea in Abkhazia, a region that borders Georgia. Since its discovery in 1960, explorers and scientists have attempted to descend deeper and deeper into the cave. Thus, setting new records each time. In 2001, Krubera Cave officially became the deepest cave known to man. The massive cave has an explored depth of 1,710 meters (5,610 feet), beating the Lamprechtsofen by 80 meters.

Photos of expeditions over the years reveal an enormous subterranean wonder. In fact, the cave looks like it was taken straight from Journey to the Center of the Earth. With a freezing underground waterfall, entire areas filled with water, and tunnels so narrow it's nearly impossible to squeeze through; the Krubera Cave is an awe-inspiring labyrinth of countless pits and chasms descending deep into the darkness.

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WHAT ARE CAVES?

Caves are natural hollows formed underground, usually large enough for a human to enter. Even though the entrance may seem small and narrow, it may open up to be wider, or lead into deep underground passages. Most caves are formed over a long period of time by the gradual erosion of rock by water.

Caves, also called cavern, natural opening in the earth large enough for human exploration. Such a cavity is formed in many types of rock and by many processes. The largest and most common caves are those formed by chemical reaction between circulating groundwater and bedrock composed of limestone or dolomite. These caves, called solution caves, typically constitute a component of what is known as karst terrain. Named after the Karst region of the western Balkan Peninsula extending from Slovenia to Montenegro, karst terrain in general is characterized by a rough and jumbled landscape of bare bedrock ledges, deranged surface drainage, and sinkholes, as well as caves. It should be noted, however, that there is considerable variation among karst areas. Some may have dramatic surface landforms but few caves. By contrast, others may have extensive cave development with little surface expression; for example, the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico, the site of Carlsbad Caverns and various other caves, have very few surface karst features.

Not all caves are part of karst landscapes. A substantial number of relatively small caves, called volcanic caves, are formed in lava and by the mechanical movement of bedrock. Other caves are formed in glaciers by the melting of ice. Still others are created by the erosive action of water and wind or from the debris of erosive processes; these are sea caves, eolian caves, rock shelters, and talus caves.

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