What is a fused stalactite and stalagmite called? Why are they called that? What are the largest stalactites and stalagmites in the world
Nature has always been and remains a mystery to man, both in distant primitive times and in modern world. One of these mysteries of modern times are caves. Previously, people were not interested in where they came from - the main thing is that they served as a reliable shelter from bad weather and enemies. Today, the study of caves is engaged in a special science - speleology. Speleologists study in detail all the regularities in the appearance of depressions, the composition of rocks, the characteristics of flora and fauna, and also give forecasts for their development. The caves contain a lot of interesting things: unknown living creatures, various water sources, processes - stalactites and stalagmites. We will talk about them in this article.
How are stalactites and stalagmites formed?
Such processes are formed mainly in karst and caves - where a large number of mineral rocks. These include limestone, chalk, dalamit, marble, gypsum, salt. Under the influence of rain moisture, which contains dissolved carbon dioxide, the rocks are eroded, and sedimentary water flows into such caves. The appearance of one or another type of processes depends on the rate of water runoff.
- a process consisting of mineral rock and formed from the ceiling of the cave. It is formed when water flows slowly and drops linger for a long time at the top of the cave recess. In the caves, a lower temperature prevails, and it is precisely this that contributes to the solidification of drops. So gradually flowing and solidifying drops form a certain stone formation in the form of a thick needle, but most of all, the shape of a stalactite resembles an icicle.
Stalagmite- an outgrowth consisting of mineral rock and formed from the lower surface of the cave. It occurs when sedimentary water flows quickly from the ceiling of the cave space and hits one point on the floor. On the lower surface of the cave, the temperature is even lower than at the top, and the drops solidify even faster. Under the force of gravity, the drop hits the floor and spreads a small distance in a circle from the place where the drop fell. Such solidification of drops forms a thick and dense base of the stalagmite, and it looks like a cone-shaped process with a pointed top.
The frequency of location of stalactites and stalagmites depends on the degree of permeability of the cave surface and on the composition of mineral rocks. If the rocks are mostly limestone or gypsum, they will dissolve faster and the water will run down the top of the cave faster. Stalactites and stalagmites in such a rock will be fragile, therefore, when examining such caves, one must be careful - do not touch the processes, neither scream, nor stomp, otherwise injuries from the fall of such formations are inevitable. Sometimes stalactites and stalagmites merge into one continuous column - stalagnate; such columns can form whole columns inside the caves.
Stalactites can look different, it depends on the composition of the rocks and the chemical processes that occur under the influence of carbon dioxide and water. Also big influence the temperature and air circulation in the cave exerts, if the wind often walks inside, then the threads, processes can be indirect, curved, arcuate. So in the cave you can see a fringe of stalactites, scallops, drapery, threads, various figures, fungi. The shape of stalagmites can also be different - from simple conical columns to flattened fungi.
Formations in the form of offshoots in karst caves can grow for centuries. Some grow faster, some take longer. On everything the globe there are thousands of karst caves, many of them have already been studied, many are still unknown to the world.
The world's most famous stalactite and stalagmite caves
"Mammoth Cave" (USA, Kentucky)
According to scientists, it arose about 10 million years ago, got its name due to its size, its length is about 600 km. Inside there is a whole system of mines and branches. Mineral outgrowths in this cave are located on whole floors, in many of its departments and halls, stone blocks stick out directly from the water. The spectacle impresses both speleologists and tourists, but you need to be careful - it is very easy to get lost in it.
"Crystal Cave" (Mexico)
Inside the cave is filled with gypsum crystals, the largest outgrowth reaches 11 meters in height, and its mass is 54 tons! It is unlikely that you will be able to visit such a cave. ordinary tourists because the temperature inside reaches +50 degrees.
"Cave of Throat Barloga" (Russia)
The height of the cave is about 2800 meters, inside there is a whole system of halls, wells and streams of various sizes. The filling in the halls varies from large pyramidal crystalline processes to various clay and calcium deposits. Going down into such a cave is dangerous even for professionals.
Despite all the dangers associated with traveling through such masterpieces of nature, the caves will always beckon with their unique and enchanting beauty, and mysterious silence, where there is its own chronology and its own special course of life.
Video
Stalactites photos of caves and interesting facts about them
Most colorful photo caves containing stalactites and stalagmites. These usually limestone formations hanging from the ceiling or growing out of the ground are simply mesmerizing. How old are they supposed to be? Many millions, as tour guides classically claim, or can they grow in a shorter time?
(Stalactites photo #1.1)
(Stalactites photo #1.2)
What is a stalactite and stalagmite? The water that seeps into the cave contains particles of limestone or other minerals. When a drop of water flows through the gap and falls, the mineral dissolved in it remains on the ceiling of the cave. Further, drop by drop, these deposits grow downward and after a long or short time, a stalactite is formed on the ceiling of the cave - a hard icicle made of stone or salt. Below, under it, a stalagmite grows, from falling drops from a stalactite. After some time, both limestone formations grow, meet and join into a single column.
(Stalactites photo #2.1)
(Stalactites photo #2.2)
“Caves are formed by the action of groundwater, but how this happens, we do not know,” say evolutionary scientists. But, judging by the new data, it turns out that it is sulfuric acid that affects the formation of at least 10% of the caves in the Guadeloupe mountains in New Mexico and Texas. This means that the caves could have formed much faster than in millions of years.
(Stalactites photo #3.1)
(Stalactites photo #3.2)
The world's tallest stalagmite is located in the Armand Cave in France. According to scientists, its growth rate is 3 mm per year. Then this stalagmite had to reach its height of 38 m in 12,700 years. Such data are not consistent with the age of the stalagmite, which was established by radiometric dating (millions of years). Is the method wrong?
(Stalactites photo #4.1)
(Stalactites photo #4.2)
At Cape Levin Western Australia there is a water wheel, which is simply overgrown with stone. And it happened in less than 65 years. This suggests that such natural growths can form quite quickly. But why, then, according to evolutionists, stalactites and stalagmites, whose age is unknown, are formed over thousands or even millions of years?
(Stalactites photo #5.1)
(Stalactites photo #5.2)
Due to the fact that the discoveries about the rapid growth of stalactites have become known today, we can say that the growth of stalactites that we see in the most beautiful limestone caves did not take whole epochs. These beautiful formations could grow very quickly in just a few thousand years during the cataclysmic global Flood.
(Stalactites photo #6.1)
(Stalactites photo #6.2)
Often a stalagmite joins with a stalactite and a column appears. The largest stone column in Carlsbad is over 30 meters high. The ceilings of some caves are hung with short stalactites, like a fringe. Shine in other caves stone stalactites in the form of needles on the walls. There are stalactites that grow to the sides and even up.
(Stalactites photo #7.1)
(Stalactites photo #7.2)
In October 1953, National Geographic magazine published a photograph of a bat that fell on a stalagmite in the famous carlsbad caves, New Mexico, and hardened on it. The stalagmite grew so fast that it was able to save the bat before the animal began to decompose.
(Stalactites photo #8.1)
(Stalactites photo #8.2)
In the Jenolan Caverns and various other places, you can see stalactites and stalagmites that have grown right in the structures built by man. Like the Lincoln Memorial, the Jenolan structures contain a cement mortar that is highly permeable, making these formations grow rapidly. Unfortunately, the grown formations are very porous and brittle.
(Stalactites photo #9.1)
(Stalactites photo #9.2)
In Philadelphia, anyone can observe many bridges in which stalactites grow. The length of some of them is more than 30 cm. Based on the age of the bridges, we conclude that all these stalactites are less than 56 years old. Now that's speed!
(Stalactites photo #10.1)
(Stalactites photo #10.2)
The world of stalactites and stalagmites is beautiful and mysterious. These vivid photos tell us about God's amazing laws in the world of geology, about our history, which is not millions of years old, but only 5-6 thousand. And these majestic natural formations tell us about the greatness of their Creator
Subscribe to newsletter
Nature has always been and remains a mystery to man, both in ancient times and in the modern world. One of these mysteries of modern times are caves. Previously, people were not interested in where they came from - the main thing is that they served as a reliable shelter from bad weather and enemies. Today, the study of caves is engaged in a special science - speleology. Speleologists study in detail all the regularities in the appearance of depressions, the composition of rocks, the characteristics of flora and fauna, and also give forecasts for their development. The caves contain a lot of interesting things: unknown living creatures, various water sources, processes - stalactites and stalagmites. We will talk about them in this article.
How are stalactites and stalagmites formed?
Such processes are formed mainly in karst and caves - where a large amount of mineral rocks is contained. These include limestone, chalk, dalamit, marble, gypsum, salt. Under the influence of rain moisture, which contains dissolved carbon dioxide, the rocks are eroded, and sedimentary water flows into such caves. The appearance of one or another type of processes depends on the rate of water runoff.
- a process consisting of mineral rock and formed from the ceiling of the cave. It is formed when water flows slowly and drops linger for a long time at the top of the cave recess. In the caves, a lower temperature prevails, and it is precisely this that contributes to the solidification of drops. So gradually flowing and solidifying drops form a kind of stone formation in the form of a thick needle, but most of all, the shape of a stalactite resembles an icicle.
Stalagmite- an outgrowth consisting of mineral rock and formed from the lower surface of the cave. It occurs when sedimentary water flows quickly from the ceiling of the cave space and hits one point on the floor. On the lower surface of the cave, the temperature is even lower than at the top, and the drops solidify even faster. Under the force of gravity, the drop hits the floor and spreads a small distance in a circle from the place where the drop fell. Such solidification of drops forms a thick and dense base of the stalagmite, and it looks like a cone-shaped process with a pointed top.
The frequency of location of stalactites and stalagmites depends on the degree of permeability of the cave surface and on the composition of mineral rocks. If the rocks are mostly limestone or gypsum, they will dissolve faster and the water will run down the top of the cave faster. Stalactites and stalagmites in such a rock will be fragile, therefore, when examining such caves, one must be careful - do not touch the processes, neither scream, nor stomp, otherwise injuries from the fall of such formations are inevitable. Sometimes stalactites and stalagmites merge into one continuous column - stalagnate; such columns can form whole columns inside the caves.
Stalactites can look different, it depends on the composition of the rocks and the chemical processes that occur under the influence of carbon dioxide and water. The temperature and air circulation in the cave also have a great influence, if the wind often walks inside, then the threads, processes can be indirect, curved, arched. So in the cave you can see a fringe of stalactites, scallops, drapery, threads, various figures, fungi. The shape of stalagmites can also be different - from simple conical columns to flattened fungi.
Formations in the form of offshoots in karst caves can grow for centuries. Some grow faster, some take longer. There are thousands of karst caves all over the globe, many of them have already been studied, many are still unknown to the world.
The world's most famous stalactite and stalagmite caves
"Mammoth Cave" (USA, Kentucky)
According to scientists, it arose about 10 million years ago, got its name due to its size, its length is about 600 km. Inside there is a whole system of mines and branches. Mineral outgrowths in this cave are located on whole floors, in many of its departments and halls, stone blocks stick out directly from the water. The spectacle impresses both speleologists and tourists, but you need to be careful - it is very easy to get lost in it.
"Crystal Cave" (Mexico)
Inside the cave is filled with gypsum crystals, the largest outgrowth reaches 11 meters in height, and its mass is 54 tons! It is unlikely that ordinary tourists will be able to visit such a cave, because the temperature inside reaches +50 degrees.
"Cave of Throat Barloga" (Russia)
The height of the cave is about 2800 meters, inside there is a whole system of halls, wells and streams of various sizes. The filling in the halls varies from large pyramidal crystalline processes to various clay and calcium deposits. Going down into such a cave is dangerous even for professionals.
Despite all the dangers associated with traveling through such masterpieces of nature, the caves will always beckon with their unique and enchanting beauty, and mysterious silence, where there is its own chronology and its own special course of life.
Video
Visitors to the karst caves can watch a spectacle that is unique in its beauty - groups of stalactites and stalagmites. They grow in chaotic heaps and form into large and small groups. Do you know what it is all about? How are they formed and how do they differ from each other?
Let's start with the basics. Why are karst caves
The earth's crust is heterogeneous in composition. At the stage of formation of land and the oceans, various rocks and minerals. So, for example, volcanic activity with high temperature and pressure led to the appearance of basalt and granite. But deposits of water-soluble rocks, such as limestone, chalk or gypsum, were formed in less extreme conditions. For millions of years, water has undermined and washed away these rocks, leaving behind large and small voids. So there were caves, which began to be called karst. The fact is that karst is a void inside some body. Most of famous caves - karst origin. However, other processes of cave formation are also known, but there are no stalactites and stalagmites in them.
How did the terms "stalactite" and "stalagmite" originate?
The terms "stalactite" and "stalagmite" were coined by the Danish naturalist Ole Worm. It happened in 1655. Both terms are related to the Greek language. Stalactite is translated as "leaked drop by drop". That is, it is a kind of lime icicle hanging from the ceiling. karst cave. The chemogenic formation is sometimes not composed of limestone, but of other sedimentary rocks. In shape, stalactites resemble ice icicles, fringes, thin straws or combs with teeth of different levels.
Stalagmite means "drop". This is a sintered mineral (calcareous) icicle that grows in a cone or column from the bottom of the cave. Sometimes the main building material for a stalagmite is not limestone, but gypsum or salt. But this is an infrequent occurrence.
Education process
The shape and size of calcareous outgrowths and icicles depend on the size of the cave and its location. Even in the densest rock there are cracks and micro-slits through which water seeps into the karst caves. Rain and snow have to overcome a long and hard way, washing away calcium and other materials along the way. The pores through which moisture seeps in are very small. Because of this, water does not run off in streams, but drips from the ceiling of the caves. Each droplet carries with it a small amount of sedimentary rocks (mainly limestone). Then the drop evaporates, and the rock dissolved in it remains on the ceiling or falls to the floor. In this way, a calcareous icicle is created that hangs under the arch in the cave, or a sedimentary outgrowth appears, rising towards it. As a result, the cave acquires a mystical-fabulous appearance, giving rise to legends about the underworld.
Despite the fact that the process goes everywhere according to the same scenario, there are no identical caves in the world. Moreover, each "hall" in the cave is unique. Nature does not allow repetition.
Education rate
The formation of stalactites and stalagmites is a long process. According to scientists, it takes about 100 years to grow by 1 cm. The growth rate depends on the speed of the drop, the humidity of the air inside the cave, the temperature, and the composition of the dissolved rocks. Accurate growth calculations cannot be made. When trying to research groups of scientists received such conflicting results that it was impossible to bring them to a "common denominator". Because the input data, such as droplet intensity, fall height, evaporation rate, amount of sedimentary materials, and so on, were constantly changing. Sometimes the calcareous icicle stopped growing altogether for several hundred years.
What do stalactites and stalagmites look like?
Stalagmites are always thicker and larger than stalactites, since all the sedimentary rock that has fallen with water flows down the walls, completing the build-up. Also, stalactites sometimes fall under their own weight, while stalagmites do not.
If the movement of water drops is not disturbed, then the stalactite and stalagmite "solder" into an underground column. This calcareous icicle is called stalagnate. Sometimes the stalagnates grow together and separate the halls with lime drapery.
On the sloping vaults of the caves, stalactites are in the form of bands that form sails. They can be straight or wavy. You need to understand, no matter how many caves you explore, all stalactites will be unique.
Lime dropper, lime icicle, sinter formation, helictid, mukarn, ledge down Dictionary of Russian synonyms. stalactite n., number of synonyms: 8 ledge (61) ... Synonym dictionary
STALACTITE, a sintered mineral formation consisting of tiny crystals of CALCIUM CARBONATE, hanging in the form of an icicle or fringe from the ceiling of the CAVES, composed of limestones of the Carboniferous period. Stalactites are formed by water, slowly ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary
STALACTITE, stalactite, husband. (from Greek stalaktos dripping) (miner). A calcareous growth on the ceiling of a cave formed by percolating drops of lime-laden water. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
STALACTITE, a, husband. An icicle-shaped calcareous growth descending from the ceiling of a cave, formed by seeping drops. | adj. stalactite, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
Miner. sinter formation growing on the ceilings of caves, mines and descending down in the form of icicles. Formed during the evaporation of minerals. water seeping through limestone cracks. Such water is hard, since the content. calcium carbonate ... ... Geological Encyclopedia
stalactite- a, m. stalactite f. gr. stalaktos dripping. Lime buildup on the ceiling or top of the walls underground voids(caves, galleries, etc.), formed by seeping drops of water containing calcium bicarbonate. BAS 1. Lime ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language
stalactite- Leaky drip formation in the form of icicles or fringes hanging from the ceiling of a karst cave, arising from the constant supply of carbonate in the form of calcite from percolating groundwater ... Geography Dictionary
STALAGMITE or STALACTITE (Greek, from stalagma thickened drops). Lime deposits formed at the bottom of the caves, due to the slow and continuous dripping of lime water from the vaults, have the shape of cones with their tops up. Dictionary of foreign ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
M. Sintered limestone formation in the form of large icicles on the ceiling or upper part of the walls of underground voids (caves, galleries, etc.), formed by seeping drops of water saturated with calcium and carbon dioxide. Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova ... Modern Dictionary Russian language Efremova
stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite (
