Stalagmite

This article needs more sources. Please help improve this article by adding reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged or removed. Find sources: "Stalagmite" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Stalagmites may also refer to a type of fungus.

A stalagmite is a form that can be found on the ground in a cave. It rises from the floor of a limestone cave when mineralized solutions drip from the ceiling and deposits of calcium carbonate form columns on the ground. When the columns form on the ceiling of a cave instead, they are called stalactites.

Stalactites and stalagmites can also form on concrete ceilings and floors, but they form much more quickly on concrete than in the natural cave environment.

Stalagmites and stalactites

There are some ways people remember which formation hangs from the ceiling (stalactite) and which rises from the floor (stalagmite):

• Stalactite has a "c", as does "ceiling". Stalagmite has a "g", as does "ground".
• The T in stalactite looks like a letter T hanging from the ceiling, while the M in stalagmite looks like a formation rising from the floor.

Preservation

Touring programs for caves with stalactites and stalagmites might ask guests not to touch the rock formations. This is because the formation is still be growing and forming. Since the rock buildup is formed by minerals solidifying out of the water solution, skin oils can disturb where the mineral water will cling. If skin touches the rock, the development of the rock formation will be affected and will not be natural anymore.

Related pages

• Stalactite

References

1. ↑ from the Greek stalagma ("Σταλαγμίτης"), "drop" or "drip"

Other websites

• The Virtual Cave: Stalagmites