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Image showing the six most common speleothems with labels. Enlarge to view labels. A stalactite (UK: / ˈ s t æ l ə k ˌ t aɪ t /, US: / s t ə ˈ l æ k t aɪ t /; from Ancient Greek σταλακτός (stalaktós) 'dripping', from σταλάσσειν (stalássein) 'to drip') [1] is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as ...
Helictites are, perhaps, the most delicate of cave formations. They are usually made of needle-form calcite and aragonite. Helictite forms have been described in several types: ribbon helictites, saws, rods, butterflies, "hands", curly-fries, and "clumps of worms". They typically have radial symmetry. They can be easily crushed or broken by the ...
Image showing the six most common speleothems The "Witch’s Finger" in the Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. A stalagmite (UK: / ˈ s t æ l ə ɡ ˌ m aɪ t /, US: / s t ə ˈ l æ ɡ m aɪ t /; from Greek σταλαγμίτης (stalagmítēs); from Ancient Greek σταλαγμίας (stalagmías) 'dropping, trickling' and -ίτης (-ítēs) 'one connected to, a member of') [1] is a type of ...
Helictites are stalactites that have a central canal with twig-like or spiral projections that appear to defy gravity Include forms known as ribbon helictites, saws, rods, butterflies, hands, curly-fries, and "clumps of worms" Chandeliers are complex clusters of ceiling decorations; Ribbon stalactites, or simply "ribbons", are shaped accordingly
They are also known as tubular stalactites. Soda straws grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves . Soda straws in caves rarely grow more than a few millimetres per year and may average one tenth of a millimetre per year. [ 1 ]
A brinicle (brine icicle, also known as an ice stalactite) is a downward-growing hollow tube of ice enclosing a plume of descending brine that is formed beneath developing sea ice.
Calthemite straw stalactite growing from the concrete ceiling of an undercover car-park Calthemite straw stalactites, the rightmost example demonstrating bending due to the direction of air currents during its formation. Calthemite is a secondary deposit, derived from concrete, lime, mortar or other calcareous material outside the cave environment.
Travertine is a calcium carbonate deposit often formed in creeks or rivers; its nature is laminated, and it includes such structures as stalagmites and stalactites. The deposits may grade into thin sheets called " draperies " or "curtains" where they descend from overhanging portions of the wall.