What are stalactites and stalagmites?
Stone Drip Symphony
What are stalactites and stalagmites?
Have you ever seen a cave with stone icicles hanging from the ceiling, or weird rocky towers growing up from the floor? Those aren't decorations someone put there. They're stalactites and stalagmites — and they've been dripping into existence, one tiny mineral drop at a time, for thousands of years.
It all starts with rain. When rainwater soaks through soil, it picks up carbon dioxide from rotting leaves and becomes slightly acidic — like very weak soda. As this acidic water seeps down through cracks in limestone rock, it dissolves tiny bits of a mineral called calcite, carrying it along like invisible cargo.
