A stalactite (Greek stalaktites, (Σταλακτίτης), from the word for "drip" and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem (secondary mineral) that hangs from the ceiling or wall of limestone caves. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A speleothem (from the Greek for "cave deposit" commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a Cave. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter It is sometimes referred to as dripstone.

Formation

Water droplet coming out of the central canal of a stalactite.

Stalactite in Doolin Cave, Ireland measuring 20ft (6. 54m) long.

Stalactites are formed by the deposition of calcium carbonate and other minerals, which is precipitated from mineralized water solutions. Calcium carbonate is a Chemical compound with the Chemical formula Ca[[Carbon C]] O 3 In Chemistry, a solution is a Homogeneous Mixture composed of two or more substances The corresponding formation on the floor underneath a stalactite is known as a stalagmite. A stalagmite (from the Greek stalagma ("Σταλαγμίτης" "drop" or "drip" is a Given enough time, these formations can meet and fuse to create columns.

Every stalactite begins with a single mineral-laden drop of water. When the drop falls, it leaves behind the thinnest ring of calcite. Each subsequent drop that forms and falls deposits another calcite ring. Eventually, these rings form a very narrow (0. 5 mm), hollow tube commonly known as a "soda straw" stalactite. A soda straw (or simply straw) is a Speleothem in the form of a hollow Mineral tube Soda straws can grow quite long, but are very fragile. If they become plugged by debris, water begins flowing over the outside, depositing more calcite and creating the more familiar cone-shaped stalactite.

Experiment modeling drip stone formation in the lab.

Stalactites from the Choranche caves in the Vercors, France

The same water drops that fall from the tip of a stalactite deposit more calcite on the floor below, eventually resulting in a rounded or cone-shaped stalagmite. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Unlike stalactites, stalagmites never start out as hollow "soda straws. "

While it has been claimed that the longest stalactite known hangs in the Chamber of Rarities in the Gruta Rei do Mato (Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, Brazil) and is 20 metres long, vertical cavers have often encountered longer stalactites while exploring. The Gruta Rei do Mato is a cave located near Sete Lagoas in Minas Gerais, Brazil, at the border of BR 040 highway close to the access clover to the city Sete Lagoas (meaning 'Seven Lakes' in Portuguese) is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, the second most populous and fourth largest by area in the federation |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Caving or spelunking is the recreational Sport of exploring Caves In contrast Speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave One of the longest stalactites viewable by the general public is in Doolin Cave, County Clare, Ireland, in a karst region known as The Burren, what makes it more impressive is the fact that the stalactite is held on by a section of calcite less than 0. County Clare ( Irish: Contae an Chláir) commonly referred to as simply Clare, is a county on Ireland and part of the wider Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble Bedrock, usually Carbonate rock such as Limestone The Burren ( Boirinn is the modern form used by the Ordnance Survey) is a unique Karst -landscape region in northwest County Clare, 3m square. The White Chamber in the Jeita Grotto's upper cavern in Lebanon holds an 8. The Jeita Grotto (مغارة جعيتا is a compound of interconnected karstic Limestone Caves in Lebanon located north of Beirut in the Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية 2 meters stalactite which is also accessible to visitors and is claimed to be the longest stalactite in the world. ^[1]

Stalactites can also form on concrete ceilings, and on plumbing where there is a slow leak and limestone (or other minerals) is in the water supply, although they form much more rapidly there than in the natural cave environment (description and experiments see literature). Stalactites can also form in lava tubes, although the mechanism of formation is much different. Lava tubes are natural conduits through which Lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow expelled by a Volcano during an eruption A common growth rate is 1 millimeter a year.

See also

Mineralized water drop forming at bottom of stalactites.

• Soda straw
• Stalagmite
• Lavacicle
• Rusticle
• Karst
• Icicle

References

• Dripstone in time-lapse ("Tropfsteine im Zeitraffer") - Schmidkonz, B. ; Wittke, G. ; Chemie Unserer Zeit, 2006, 40, 246. doi:10.1002/ciuz.200600370

External links

• The Virtual Cave's page on stalactites
• "Stalactites" by Enrique Zeleny, The Wolfram Demonstrations Project. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.