Caves

During this Rocks and Minerals unit in geoscience we talked a little bit about caves and watched a Planet Earth video on them. Caves are an extremely interesting geological occurrance. They are formed when rain water drains through the soil and turns into carbonic acid (H2CO3). When the rain water aquires this carbonic acid it drains into the ground and if there is limestone down there the water starts to erode the limestone. Rivers of this rain water end up creating these massive caves under ground. Another way caves are created are when they are created by the ocean. When it is a sea cave the constant pounding of the waves creates a cave in the rocks. Inside caves there are three different types of structures. Stalactites: these are formations that hang from the ceiling created by the dripping of water infused with calcite that is picked up from the limestone. Stalagmites: these are structures that pop up from the floor of the cave. They are also created by the constant dripping of calcite onto the cave floor. When these two structures meet (stalactites and stalagmites) they create a formation which is called a column.