As promised, a list of speleothems, shamelessly borrowed from Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speleothem Dripstone is calcium carbonate in the form of stalactites or stalagmites:
- Stalactites are pointed pendants hanging from the cave ceiling, from which they grow;
- Soda straws are very thin but long stalactites having an elongated cylindrical shape rather than the usual more conical shape of stalactites;
- Helictites are stalactites that have a central canal with twig-like or spiral projections that appear to defy gravity (Includs forms known as ribbon helictites, saws, rods, butterflies, "hands", curly-fries, and "clumps of worms")
- Chandeliers are complex clusters of ceiling decorations;
- Stalagmites are the "ground-up" counterparts of stalactites, often blunt mounds;
- Broomstick stalagmites are very tall and spindly
- Totem pole stalagmites are also tall and shaped like their namesakes
- Fried Egg stalagmites are small, typically wider than they are tall
- Columns result when stalactites and stalagmites meet or when stalactites reach the floor of the cave;
Flowstone is sheetlike and found on cave floors and walls:
- Draperies or curtains are thin, wavy sheets of calcite hanging downward;
- Bacon is a drapery with variously colored bands within the sheet;
- Rimstone dams, or gours, occur at stream ripples and form barriers that may contain water;
- Stone waterfall formations simulate frozen cascades
Cave crystals:- Dogtooth spar are large calcite crystals often found near seasonal pools;
- Frostwork is needle-like growths of calcite or aragonite;
- Moonmilk is white and cheese-like;
- Anthodites are flower-like clusters of aragonite crystals
Speleogens (technically distinct from speleothems) are formations within caves that are created by the removal of bedrock, rather than as secondary deposits. These include:
- Pillars
- Scallops
- Boneyard
- Boxwork
Others:- Cave popcorn, or cave coral, are small, knobby clusters of calcite;
- Cave pearls are the result of water dripping from high above, causing small "seed" crystals to turn over so often that they form into near-perfect spheres of calcium carbonate;
- Snottites are colonies of predominantly sulfur oxidizing bacteria and have the consistency of "snot", or mucous
Speleothems formed from salt, sulfur and other minerals are also known.
Speleothems made of pure calcium carbonate are a translucent white color, but often speleothems are colored by minerals such as iron, copper or manganese, or may be brown because of mud and silt particulate inclusions.
Off at a tangent, I wonder if all can be found in UK mines...? :confused:
Hello again darkness, my old friend...