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📘 Limestone supplies a mineral water can remove

A limestone cave begins with the right kind of bedrock.

3
lessons
~15 min
to learn
Adults
level
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What you’ll learn

  1. Dissolving the rockExplain how carbonic acid and infiltration dissolve limestone along fractures.Weak acid in groundwater enlarges cracks by removing calcite over long periods.
  2. Underground passagesDescribe how passages grow near the water table and later drain.Connected conduits form near groundwater levels and can become air-filled caves.
  3. Building formationsConnect degassing and evaporation to speleothem deposition.The same water that dissolved rock can redeposit calcite as cave decorations.

Questions this course answers

What makes rainwater more able to dissolve limestone?

Carbon dioxide from air and soil combines with water to form weak carbonic acid.

What happens during dissolution?

Acidified water dissolves some calcite and transports its ions away.

Why can caves develop near the water table?

Mixing and longer contact with groundwater can increase limestone dissolution near the water table.

What causes many stalactites and stalagmites to grow?

Water loses carbon dioxide or evaporates, leaving calcite behind.

Which sequence best describes a typical limestone solution cave?

The standard process combines acidic infiltration, groundwater dissolution, and later mineral deposition.

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