SLIDESHOW: Speleothems
/ Cave Formations
Terminology for Cave
Formations
* Stalactite - deposits which hang from the ceiling of a cave, looking like icicles. Pronounce STALACTITE
* Stalagmite – this formation
forms under a stalactite when carbonic acid flows to rapidly for the stalactite
causing the liquid drops to the ground for a stalagmite to grow Pronounce STALAGMITE
* Column- created when a
stalactite joins a stalagmite to form one formation
·
Soda Straws – thin straw-like
stalactites; stalactites in their beginning stages
·
Draperies- When water
drops flow down a sloped ceiling before dripping to the floor, calcite can
build up in a line. These lines gradually form draperies or cave bacon. This
type of speleothem is found in almost every cave in the world
·
Bacon- When Iron oxide or
organic solutions form stripes on the drapery, the drapery is popularly
nicknamed bacon
·
Baldacchino Canopies –these formations form where the surface
of a cave pool has receded beneath a growing stalagmite or flowstone mound. pronounce Baldacchino
· Flowstone - Flowstone
is one of the most common speleothems. It might look like a frozen waterfall.
The carbonate minerals making up Flowstone are usually deposited (deposition) from
flowing water in layers or bands. Individual flowstone layers may be very
colorful: yellows, reds, and oranges.
·
Shelfstone - a
ledge or projection extending from the edge of a cave pool or attached to a
speleothem dipped in a cave pool. It is formed from a precipitated material and
deposition.
·
Aragonite – a mineral
belonging to carbonates; forms in
metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, in caves and limestone areas. (Chemical Property: is soluble in cold,
diluted hydrochloric acid, with effervescence) (Physical Property: often
fluorescent under ultraviolet light) pronounce ARAGONITE
·
Speleogen - They are part of the bedrock the cave
is formed in, that has been sculpted by erosion or dissolved into distinct
interesting shapes.
Related Science
Terminology
·
Bedrock – the bottom layer of soil,
made mostly of solid rock
·
Calcite – the most common of
carbonates; a mineral, forms in many rocks; calcite makes up the bulk of
limestone and marbles (Chemical
property: will bubble with cold diluted hydrochloric acid)
·
Channel - a
trench, furrow, or groove
·
Chemical Property – a
property that involves the ability of a substance to react with other materials
and form new substances
·
Chemical Change – change that forms new
substances with new properties
·
Chemical Reaction –
a process that produces one or more new substances
·
Condensation – the process by which water
vapor changes into liquid water (part of water cycle)
·
Deposited / Deposition – the dropping or settling of
eroded materials
·
Dissolve – in a cave, the
process of a solid mixing with a liquid to become a liquid
·
Erosion – the removal and
transportation of weathered materials
·
Evaporated /evaporation – the process by which a
liquid changes into a gas (part of the water cycle)
·
Fossils – the remains or
evidence of plants or animals that have been preserved naturally
·
Groundwater – water located within the
gaps and pores in rocks below Earth’s surface (part of the water cycle /
accumulation)
·
Karst- part of a unique
kind of landscape containing caves, sinkholes, sinking streams, and springs. pronounce KARST
·
Limestone – A sedimentary
rock and one of the most easily dissolved rocks. Limestone is composed of
calcium carbonate which has precipitated on the ocean floor and mixed with
fossil fragments that are also usually calcium carbonate. As the deposit of
calcium carbonate thickens, water is squeezed out and the material hardens into
rock.
·
Mineral – a natural, solid substance
that has a definite chemical composition and physical structure
·
Physical Property – a property
that describes a substance by itself, such as color, shape, density, or
hardness
·
Precipitates - a precipitate is the insoluble solid created as a result of a liquid solution. (insoluble means it will not dissolve).
Explanation: When two soluble substances react in a solution, the reaction produces an insoluble product. The insoluble product that separates from the liquid is called the "precipitate".
Explanation: When two soluble substances react in a solution, the reaction produces an insoluble product. The insoluble product that separates from the liquid is called the "precipitate".
·
Precipitation – solid or
liquid water that falls from the air to Earth (part of the water cycle)
·
Reactivity – the ability
of a substance to go through a chemical change
·
Sedimentary Rock –rock
that forms from cemented or pressed sediments
·
Surface Tension - A
property of liquids causing their
surfaces to behave like a thin, elastic film.
Because of surface tension, the
surface of a liquid can support light objects (such as water beetles on the
surface of a pond). Surface tension is responsible for the spherical shape of
drops of liquid.
·
Solution – a mixture in
which all the substances are evenly distributed, created when acid water
dissolves limestone
·
Solution Cave - Most caves
are formed by the dissolving of bedrock by underground water (groundwater)
·
Water Cycle – the circular
path /process by which water moves above, across, and through Earth’s crust and
ecosystems
·
Weathering – the process
by which rock is broken down into smaller and smaller pieces
Additional
Vocabulary
·
Cascade – like a small
waterfall
·
composed – made of
·
converged – to come
together
· fluted - refers to the
shallow grooves running vertically along a surface
(shallow = not
deep, vertically = up and down)
·
impurities – the condition
of being not pure
·
laterally – related to, or
situated at or on the side
·
ledge or projection – a
narrow shelf
·
receded – to become less,
to slope backwards
·
rivulets – like little
rivers
Speleothems / Cave Formations
Use Terminology for Cave Formations to complete the puzzle.
Across
1. thin straw-like stalactites; stalactites in their beginning stages
4. a ledge or projection extending from the edge of a cave pool or attached
to a speleothem dipped in a cave pool. It is formed from a precipitated
material and deposition.
7. a mineral very common to cave formations
9. seeps in the gaps and pores of rocks below Earth's surface
10. another name for draperies
11. deposits which hang from the ceiling of a cave, looking like icicles
12. the process by which water vapor changes into liquid water
13. Mineral deposits in caves popularly known as “cave formations”
Down
2. They are part of the bedrock the cave is formed in, that has been sculpted by
erosion or dissolved into distinct interesting shapes.
3. created when a stalactite joins a stalagmite to form one formation
5. the dropping or settling or eroded materials
6. one of the most common speleothems. It might look like a frozen waterfall.
8. this formation forms under a stalactite when carbonic acid flows to rapidly
for the stalactite causing the liquid drops to the ground
13 of 13 words were placed into the puzzle.
Answer Key:
Across:
1. soda-straws 4. shelfstone 7. calcite 9. groundwater 10. bacon 11. stalactites 12. evaporation 13. speleothems
Down:
2. speleogen 3. column 5. deposition 6. flowstone 8. stalagmite
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