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📘 How a cave grows underground

Trace groundwater as it dissolves limestone, carries sediment, and leaves mineral records in a cave.

lessons

~10 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Adults

level

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What you’ll learn

Rain enters rock
Chemical attack
Focused flow
Underground stream
Levels and base
Ceilings and collapse
Sediment
Mineral decoration
Time in layers
Open and close

Questions this course answers

Why is soil water often able to dissolve limestone?

Carbon dioxide from soil and air forms weak carbonic acid that reacts with calcite.

What commonly guides the first cave openings?

Groundwater follows existing weaknesses in the rock.

Why do cave levels occur at different heights?

Lowering base level or groundwater can leave older passages dry while newer ones form below.

How does a stalactite grow?

Degassing in the cave causes dissolved calcite to precipitate on the ceiling.

Why are cave systems vulnerable to surface spills?

Karst connections can bypass slow soil filtration.

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