Speleothem

A speleothem is a special rock formation that grows in caves over a very, very long time. It's like the cave is making its own decorations! These rock formations are made from things like calcite, which is a mineral found in limestone.

When water drips into the cave from above, it carries tiny amounts of calcite with it. The water slowly drips onto the ground or the wall of the cave, but it's not just any drip - it's actually like a tiny little straw! That's because the water is carrying a little bit of calcite with it, and when it touches the air, some of the calcite gets left behind. Over millions and millions of these little drips, the calcite builds up, and that's how speleothems are made.

So what do speleothems look like? Well, they can take all kinds of shapes and forms! Some speleothems look like long, thin tubes (those are called "stalactites") hanging from the ceiling of the cave. Other speleothems look like little bumps or humps coming out of the ground (those are called "stalagmites"). There are even speleothems that look like tiny little straws (those are called "soda straws"), or speleothems that grow sideways (those are called "flowstones").

One thing that's really cool about speleothems is that they can tell us a lot about the history of the cave! By looking at how the speleothems grew and how old they are, scientists can figure out how old the cave is and what kind of environment it used to be. So even though speleothems are just funny-looking rocks, they actually hold a lot of secret information!