Cave Formation Process: Stalactites, Stalagmites, and Columns Explained #3741226 (License: Personal Use)

This schematic illustrates the karst process where slightly acidic groundwater dissolves limestone, carrying dissolved calcium carbonate. As water drips from the cave ceiling, it deposits calcite, forming stalactites; when drips hit the floor, they build stalagmites upward. Over millennia, these may fuse into columns. The diagram labels key stages: limestone bedrock, stalactite, stalagmite, precipitate, and resulting column.

Used in educational geology webpages, museum exhibits, or travel guides about caves and karst landscapes; serves users seeking to understand speleogenesis or plan cave visits.