The tallest stalagmite. How are karst caves formed? Stalactites and stalagmites, other stone formations
Drops falling from the ceiling hollow out a small (up to 0.15 m) conical pit in the deposits of the floor of the caves. This hole is gradually filled with calcite, which forms a kind of root, and the upward growth of the stalagmite begins.
The size of the stalagmites
Stalagmites are usually small. Only in some cases do they reach a height of 6–8 m with a diameter of the lower part of 1–2 m. The largest stalagmite in the world, 63.2 m high, was found in Martin Cave (Cuba). The second place is occupied by a stalagmite in the Krasnogorsk cave (Czechoslovakia), its height is 32.7 m. In the areas where they are connected with stalactites, calcite columns, or stalagnates, of the most diverse forms appear. Patterned or twisted columns are especially beautiful. Photo of a stalagmite
Shape of stalagmites
Stalagmites have many names depending on their shape. stand out conical stalagmites, pagoda-shaped, palm stalagmites, stick stalagmites, corallites(tree-like stalagmites that look like coral bushes), etc. The shape of stalagmites is determined by the conditions of their formation and, above all, by the degree of watering of the cave. Very original are the stalagmites, which look like stone lilies in the grotto of Iberia Anakopia cave. Their height reaches 0.3 m. The upper edges of such stalagmites are open, which is associated with the spraying of water drops falling from high altitude, and the accumulation of calcium carbonate along the walls of the formed pit. Interesting stalagmites with rims, reminiscent of candlesticks (grotto of Tbilisi Anakopia cave). The rims are formed around periodically flooded stalagmites. Meet eccentric stalagmites. Their curvature is often caused by the slow movement of the scree on which they form. The base of the stalagmite in this case gradually moves down, and drops falling on the same place bend the stalagmite towards the top of the scree. Such stalagmites are observed, for example, in the Anakopia cave.The structure of the stalagmites
Stalagmites are characterized by a layered structure. In the transverse section, concentric white and dark layers alternate, the thickness of which varies from 0.02 to 0.07 mm. The thickness of the layer around the circumference is not the same, since the water falling on the stalagmite spreads unevenly over its surface. Sometimes stalagmites in the section are very beautiful.
But most often stalagmites have the following sectional view. 
Research by F. Vitasek (1951) showed that the growing stalagmite layers are a semi-annual product, with white layers corresponding to the winter period, and dark layers to the summer period, since warm summer waters are characterized by an increased content of metal hydroxides and organic compounds compared to winter period waters. White layers are characterized by a crystalline structure and a perpendicular arrangement of calcite grains to the surface of the layers. The dark layers are amorphous, their crystallization is prevented by the presence of colloidal iron oxide hydrate. With a strong increase in the dark layers, an alternation of many white and dark very thin layers was revealed, which indicates a multiple change in the conditions of seepage of infiltration water during the year. A strict alternation in cross section of white and dark layers is used to determine the absolute age of stalagmites, as well as the underground cavities in which they form. The calculations give interesting results. Thus, the age of a stalagmite from the Kizelovskaya cave (Middle Urals), reaching 68 cm in diameter, was determined at 2500 years (Maksimovich, 1963). The age of stalagmites of some foreign caves, determined by semi-annual rings, was 600 thousand years. (According to the research of F. Vitasek, in the Demänovské caves in Czechoslovakia, a 1 mm stalagmite is formed in 10 years, and 10 mm in 500 years.) This interesting method, which is becoming more and more widespread, is still far from perfect and needs to be clarified . Longitudinal section of a stalagmite consists, as it were, of many thin caps put on each other. In the central part of the stalagmite, horizontal calcite layers fall sharply down towards its edges. growth of stalagmites
growth rate of stalagmites quite different. It depends on the humidity of the air in the cave, the characteristics of its circulation, the magnitude of the influx of the solution, the degree of its concentration and the temperature regime. As observations have shown, the growth rate of stalagmites varies from tenths to several millimeters per year. Of particular interest in this respect are the works of Czechoslovak researchers who used the radiocarbon method to determine the age of karst formations. It has been established that the growth rate of stalagmites in the caves of Czechoslovakia is 0.5–4.5 cm per 100 years (G. Franke). In a long and complex history of the formation of sinter formations, epochs of material accumulation may alternate with periods of its dissolution. This is interesting! Related article:From the surface of the earth, water seeps into the earth's interior. And where soluble rocks lie in them - limestone, chalk, gypsum - there gradually water and time create an underground miracle - a cave.
Caves are different. Huge, stretching underground for many kilometers, and small. Ice and no ice. With underground lakes and rivers that you can sail on a boat, and without them...
Caves are no joke. In no case should you go there without an experienced escort. There is nothing to get lost and lost forever.
And yet, researchers, tourists and just curious people often visit the caves. Once in the cave hall, a person experiences surprise and admiration. Stone icicles - stalactites - hang from majestic vaults. Some of them are very small, others are large and very old. Gray, snow-white, white-pink, these stone icicles are a real decoration of the cave.
Water is constantly running down them. And various substances are dissolved in it. At the very end of the icicle is a drop of water
delayed. The time that a droplet spends on the tip of a stalactite is enough for some of these substances to remain on its hard edge. So, very slowly, for many centuries, a stalactite grows.
The drop breaks off and falls down. And there, from the floor of the cave, a stalagmite, a stone tower, grows towards the stalactite. Many years will pass, they will meet and grow together, forming a column.
IN mysterious world caves you can see absolutely amazing stalagmites. In one of the caves there is a stalagmite "Candlestick". This snow-white stone marvel is really very reminiscent of a candlestick.
In addition to stalactites, stalagmites, columns, there are lush stone curtains, stone flowers and other amazing formations in the caves. All of them are creations of tireless water...
When you are in a cave and admire it, it is especially unpleasant to suddenly find a can of soda water, a candy wrapper or something like that. You involuntarily think with annoyance: oh, even here people have already been here who do not respect nature, do not appreciate its mysterious, unique beauty.
Yes, there are different people in the caves, and not only those who value earthly stone beauty. Among them, to the greatest regret, there are those who do not have to break off the stalactite and destroy the stalagmite. Or make some kind of inscription on the wall of the cave. Or leave trash here.
Sometimes people even build a fire in the cave. For the cave, this is harmful, because the temperature regime that has developed here for centuries is violated. For the unfortunate tourists themselves, this can end tragically: they can suffocate and die in the smoke.
Caves - "underground palaces", are created by nature over many millennia, and it is possible to break, spoil the underground wonder in a matter of minutes.
Therefore, no one, ever and nowhere, can break stalactites, stalagmites and other natural “decorations” in caves. You can not make any inscriptions, burn fires and throw garbage. It is necessary to respect the caves, these unique creations of nature, to respect and protect.
If you ever find yourself in a cave, then try not to forget about it.
AND THE STONE WORTH RESPECT
On a school trip, the mischievous Lyosha began to bring down the edge of a small cliff with his foot. In this place, layers of clay and sand were visible. Once local hills were formed from them. The cliff was with a small overhanging ledge-cornice. That's what the boy was trying to bring down.
He did not think that he himself could fall. And he didn’t think at all that the cliff and its cornice were beautiful in their own way and that this simple beauty should also be protected. The boy did not even think about the fact that there might be someone's minks on a steep slope, for example, shore swallows or some insects, and that these minks would be destroyed. Fortunately, Lyosha did not have time to do anything wrong - the teacher stopped him. But after all, a teacher is not always next to the guys ...
What makes up the beauty of our planet? Flowers and trees, birds and butterflies, seas and rivers - this is only part of its beauty. Everything that nature has created is beautiful in its own way. And this little break too. And here is the stone-boulder that lies nearby.
Imagine that we have come to such a boulder. It may be the size of a soccer ball, or it may be larger than an adult. A smooth, rounded stone warmed up on the sunny side, and cool on the shady side. How nice to put your hands on it. Looking at this mighty stone, touching it, you feel some kind of majestic, exciting wisdom of the ages. Well, that's the way it should be. After all, a boulder lying quietly somewhere in a forest or on a river bank is not just a stone. He is peculiar natural monument left behind by a very long time ago.
How are karst caves formed? Stalactites and stalagmites - what are they? Main breed Crimean mountains- limestone. Cracked rocks easily absorb moisture. Rain and melt water with dissolved carbon dioxide flows through them deep into the mountain. This very weak carbonic acid interacts with limestone (calcium carbonate) converts it into a soluble state (calcium bicarbonate), for many millennia it washes and cuts its own channel. This is how a growing watered cave is formed. With time underground river can find a new crack and go down another one, two, three, or even all six floors, as in Kizil-Kobe (Red Caves). The lower "wet" caves continue to grow, the upper ones retain their shape.
Stages of formation of karst caves
- Rain and melt water seeps through the capillaries through the soil with rocks, absorbs carbon dioxide. Small streams through cracks gather into an underground river.
- Water (weak carbonic acid) continues to wash its course. The limestone becomes soluble and is washed out of the rocks, making the water hard.
- In the middle of the cave, the water goes into a crack, begins to create another channel for itself. Stalactites grow in an abandoned cave (already free from the river).
- The river washes a completely new course. Large stalactites grow in the cave.
How are stalactites formed?
Hard water drips from the vaults of the caves. These are sediments transformed into rocks, which seeped from the surface of the earth through the “roof”, and their own cave condensate. A reverse reaction takes place on the surface of the stone. Calcium bicarbonate dissolved in water turns back into carbonate, releasing carbon dioxide. In everyday life, a similar process leads to the appearance of plaque on the bathrooms, scale in pots and radiators.
First, a ring appears on the rock, then a growing tube. Until the hole is clogged, water drips from it, and gradually a sharp, straight stone icicle grows - stalactite. If the watercourse is good, if there are no neighboring drops, the stalactite will be single and may grow large. Where there has been constant rain for centuries, a whole forest of stalactites grows, usually of different lengths and thicknesses, sometimes of different colors. If the drops are very small, dense thickets of “straws” may appear, more than a meter long and several millimeters thick, transparent, shining in the light of a lantern, like an exquisite underground chandelier.
What are seasonal stalactite rings?
Outwardly, they look like growth rings of wood. They can also be used to determine age. weather in times that are thousands and even millions of years distant from us. To do this, determine the isotopic and chemical composition of the desired "ring". It is important not to make a mistake, After all, there are so many rings!
A modern ion mass spectrometer allows you to take samples from layers one hundredth of a millimeter thick - this corresponds to an analysis accuracy of one year.
How long do stalactites grow?
The growth rate of cave stalactites can be very different. It depends on the amount and composition of water flowing from the "ceiling", on the temperature and humidity of the air in the cave. It is difficult to even talk about some average values. In some caves, meter-long stalactites grow in a thousand years, in others - in five thousand years. But in any case, a broken "stone icicle" is an irreparable damage to nature. A trace of a moral crime, like killing an animal for fun.
Stalagmites, stalagnates and other sinter formations
What other forms are sinter formations in caves? In the place where the drop falls, first a speck appears, then a tubercle of insoluble salts (mostly the same calcium carbonate). The bump grows into a stone stump, sometimes pointed, but more often flat or rounded by the erratic splashing of hard water. This is how it is formed stalagmite. Usually it is larger, thicker and stronger than a stalactite, because water flows down its walls and all the released carbonate goes to construction. And also because the stalactite sooner or later breaks off under its own weight, but the stalagmite never.
If the movement of water is not disturbed, the stalactite fuses with the stalagmite. The strongest underground column is formed - stalagnate. From now on, nothing but earthquakes threatens her, so stalagnates can grow to gigantic sizes.
Flowing down the sloping vaults of the cave, hard water leaves behind not specks, but strips of calcium carbonate. These strips grow in thickness and eventually turn into thin flat sail. They are even and wavy, like the edges of a tablecloth, they can cover the entire wall to the ground, or they can remain in the form of pasties, forming a “cornice” or “chandelier”, and then grow like ordinary stalactites. Everything depends on the movement of the whimsical, capricious, “lazy” water drop, which always chooses the easiest and most profitable path for itself. Usually scallops tinkle when you tap them with a stick, so the walls overgrown with scallops are called xylophones or authorities.
The most interesting and unusual of karst deposits are helictites, or eccentrics. Starting to grow like stalactites, they bend strangely and bizarrely. Sometimes these are second-order stalactites, they grow like branches on a tree trunk. Why do stalactites begin to grow sideways, like drusen of crystals, or even twist into a spiral, turning into helictites? Science does not give an exact answer. The mechanics and chemistry of helictite growth are boundary phenomena between two forms: sintered and crystalline. Helictites were found in the caves "200 years of Simferopol", Nizhny Bair.
Helictites form in places where the air is still; there, the same calcium bicarbonate passes into a solid state, dissolved not in water dripping from the vaults, but in the moisture of the air.
Underground waterfalls also leave behind traces of limestone. It grows in a dense natural layer and will remain an ornament for tens and hundreds of thousands of years. Even after the unlucky river leaves the upper floors of the cave, we see frozen stone waterfalls…
Drops and streams flow into the baths, along the edges of which a limestone roller grows - goura dam. Gur baths go on with their own lives: stone “water lilies” and “lotuses” grow with rounded “buds” and flat “leaves” lying in the water.
Ripens in some baths cave pearl. This is not a precious stone, but the composition of sea and cave pearls is the same. It is generally accepted that a grain of sand that has fallen into a bath rotates with a water stream and is gradually enveloped in limestone (which in its pure form is transparent, like glass). But pearls are formed in very quiet backwaters ...
Wet, soft, shapeless mass of white, sometimes with a bluish tint, called moon milk. It's the same calcium carbonate. Moon milk decorates the caves in its own way, and when dried, it crumbles into a fine powder when pressed. How moon milk, the true secret of karst caves, is formed, only obscure assumptions are made about this. Nothing in nature, except for calcite, exists in this state. Moon milk is dry and wet, liquid and dense, viscous and fluid. In fact, this substance is neither solid nor liquid, it is generally unclear what kind ... Scientists bypass this topic, leaving exotic lovers a clear field for thought and fantasy.
Aragonite crystals
When the water leaves, the growth of the cave stops, but its interior decoration continues to be enriched with new decorations. Humidity in deep stone cavities approaches 100%. Water vapor is saturated with calcium bicarbonate ions, and crystals grow on stones (more often along cracks).
The bizarre, capriciousness of aerosol crystallization figures is incomparable with any streaks: created according to the laws of the microcosm, they depend on the composition and concentration of ions, on the ways of moving water molecules, on the rules for constructing crystal lattices with all their additions and deviations. Aragonite It is a hard variety of calcite. It is formed at fairly low temperatures, most often underground - in caves, ore deposits, in cold springs.
In the caves you can find the smallest crystals of aragonite. When there are a lot of them, they glow in the beam of a lantern, like heavenly stars. Sometimes large acute-angled crystals grow, and nearby - small ones, collected in "twigs", in "fluffs", in "snowflakes". These can be sharp-spiked "hedgehogs", "thriving" stalactites of various shades, individual and collected in inflorescences "cave flowers" of different colors and unimaginable shapes.
The most interesting and varied underground ornaments grow as a result of the combined action of liquid water and ion-rich aerosol. Graceful anthropomorphic figurines, small animals, "hairy Ago", "jellyfish" with a fringe of "tentacles" around the edges, "anemones" ... In a word, prepare your camera, open your notebook, fantasize! But everything will be poor, everything is not right: we are mere mortals, and the caves were created by Her Majesty Nature. Unequal.
στάλαγμα - drop) - sinter mineral formations (mostly calcareous, less often gypsum, salt), growing in the form of cones, pillars from the bottom of caves and other underground karst cavities towards stalactites and often merging with them, forming a stalagnate. One of the highest in the world and the largest in America is the stalagmite found in the cave "Martin Infierno" (Spanish. Martin Infierno), province of Cienfuegos (Cuba). Its height is 67.2 m. In Europe - 35.6 m (Buzgo cave in Slovakia).
Stalagmite in the Sablinsky caves
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An excerpt characterizing the Stalagmite
- She loves you.“Don’t talk nonsense ...” said Prince Andrei, smiling and looking into Pierre’s eyes.
“He loves, I know,” Pierre shouted angrily.
“No, listen,” said Prince Andrei, stopping him by the hand. Do you know what position I'm in? I need to tell everything to someone.
“Well, well, say, I’m very glad,” Pierre said, and indeed his face changed, the wrinkle smoothed out, and he joyfully listened to Prince Andrei. Prince Andrei seemed and was a completely different, new person. Where was his anguish, his contempt for life, his disappointment? Pierre was the only person before whom he dared to speak out; but on the other hand, he told him everything that was in his soul. Either he easily and boldly made plans for a long future, talked about how he could not sacrifice his happiness for the whim of his father, how he would force his father to agree to this marriage and love her or do without his consent, then he was surprised how on something strange, alien, independent of him, against the feeling that possessed him.
“I would not believe someone who would tell me that I can love like that,” said Prince Andrei. “It's not the same feeling I had before. The whole world is divided for me into two halves: one is she and there is all the happiness of hope, light; the other half - everything where it is not there, there is all despondency and darkness ...
“Darkness and gloom,” Pierre repeated, “yes, yes, I understand that.
“I can't help but love the light, it's not my fault. And I am very happy. You understand me? I know that you are happy for me.
STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES.
In caves, stalactites are very often found - "icicles" of various sizes hanging from the ceiling, and stalagmites - "icicles" growing from the floor of the cave.
Word " stalactite" translated from Greek means "leaked drop by drop." The fact is that even the highest stone mountains on Earth, they are not a solid monolith - they have microcracks through which water seeps from the surface of the mountain into the caves. But water comes into the caves through the thickness very slowly - literally in rare drops. These droplets of water wash out calcium from the rock a little bit - this is how stalactites are obtained.
Dripping on the floor of the cave, the water brings with it calcium crystals, which begin to fold into a "hill" - stalagmite. Stalagmites are usually thicker than stalactites, because the water splashes when falling and the crystals crumble.
Both stalactites and stalagmites grow very slowly - hundreds and thousands of years. If the cave is not very high, then the stalagmites and stalactites coalesce over time.
On the polished section of the stalagmite, growth rings are clearly visible.
By the way, there is a very simple method of how to remember what to call a stalactite and what a stalagmite - in the word "stalag m it "is the letter M, as in the word" ze m la". So, a stalagmite is something that grows on the ground!
The longest, free-hanging stalactite is considered to be a huge stone icicle in Gruga do Janelao, Brazil, 12 meters long, and the record holder among stalagmites has a height of 32 meters. It is located in the Krasnogorska cave near Roznava, Slovakia.
We have a huge number of caves in Russia where you can see this miracle of nature. If you have the opportunity to visit the caves with a tour - be sure to go - we guarantee impressions of a lifetime!
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