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Caves
A cave is defined as an underground passage large enough for a person to
crawl into, naturally formed, and in complete darkness.
How does a cave form?
1. Rain dissolves Carbon Dioxide into Carbonic acid
2. Carbonic acid dissolves minerals in rock
3. Rock is sculpted in weak spots
4. Water seeps through rocks and makes underground waterways
5. When the water level drops, the waterway exits the rock through the exiting hole (resurgence)
6. Collections of water creates deep gaps in caves.
7. When the water level outside the cave drops, the cave empties and dries out.
Stalactite
Stalagmite
Column
Dissolved
Minerals
(Rock)
Stalactites
• Stalactites
– Formed by water that
drops from the top of the
cave that contains calcite
– The calcite is left when
the water drops
– Occasionally, stalactites
will grow together with the
stalagmites and will
create a column.
Types of Stalactites
• Types of
Stalactites
• Icicle Straw Drape
Stalagmites
• Stalagmites:
– Form from the bottom
of the cave
– They grow about 1 cm
every 1000 years
Types of Stalagmites
• Dish Stack Fir Cone
Three Primary Cave Types
• Rainfall
• Sulfuric Acid
• Flowing Lava
Rainfall
• Rainfall seeps into the
ground and combines
with CO2 in the soil to
make Carbonic Acid
• The Carbonic Acid
dissolves away the
limestone
• Natural Bridge
Caverns
Sulfuric Acid
• Found near
underground oil
fields
• Microbes eat
sulfates in the oil
and release a gas
that when combined
with oxygen forms
sulfuric acid
• Lechuguilla Cave
Flowing Lava
• Lava travels beneath the surface and is
expelled by a volcano during an eruption
Cave Organisms
• Cave organisms fall into three basic
classes:
– Troglophiles
– Troglobites
– Trogloxenes
Cave Organisms Troglophiles: “cave lovers” can live part or
all of their lives in caves
– Can complete a life cycle in certain
environments on the surface
– Examples: cave crickets, millipedes,
pseudoscorpions, and spiders
Cave Organisms Troglobites: “cave dwellers” animals that are
specialized for cave life.
– Can leave for short periods of time
– Can complete parts of their life cycles above ground
– Can’t live entire lives outside of the cave
– Examples: some bacteria, some flatworms, and
blindfish
Cave Organisms
Trogloxenes: “cave guests”
– Frequents caves
– May require caves for a portion of it’s life
cycle
– Must return to the surface
– Examples: Hibernating reptiles and
mammals
Adaptations of Things that Live in
Caves
• Loss of pigment
• Loss of eyes
• Blue eyes (can absorb light better)
• Elongation of appendages
• Enhancement of other senses (can sense
vibrations in water)
• Echolocation
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