caves formation?

Answer 1

Groundwater dissolves the rock underground. This mainly occurs in carbonates because they are common and easily dissolved.

Answer 2

Erosion forms some caves. However, much of the work in cave-forming is performed by dissolution of minerals by groundwater. These minerals are dissolved and carried away by the water itself, which issues (or at one time issued) from the cavern at some point. Surface features formed by such processes are called collectively Karst Topography (after a region in Europe). Stalctites and Stalagmites (and other cave features) are formed in the drier sections of the cave as water with minerals in solution drip from the roof or spill down the cave walls and evaporate, causing some of the minerals to precipitate out of solution, often forming beautiful features.

Answer 3

A cave is a natural underground void large enough for an adult human to enter. Some scientists stipulate that it must be large enough that some portion of it will not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like cliff cavities, rock shelters and sea caves. Speleology is the scientific exploration and study of all aspects of caves. The act of exploring a cave for recreation is called "caving", "potholing", or occasionally (only in the United States) "spelunking".

Caves are formed by geologic processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion from water, tectonic forces and atmospheric influences.

click here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave#Types_and_formation


Cave formation are:
A speleothem (from the Greek for "cave deposit") is a formal term for what is also known as a cave formation, or amongst cavers, collectively known as pretties. They are the result of the interactions among water, rock, and air within caves.

As water seeps through cracks in rock, it dissolves certain compounds; for caves, these compounds are usually calcite and aragonite (both calcium carbonate), or gypsum (calcium sulfate). At first, this water creates passages which grow larger over time, forming a cave. Eventually, these voids within the rock grow large enough that the seeping water contacts air, causing its solutes to precipitate. This precipitation may be a function of concentration through water removal (calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate) or through the loss of carbon dioxide (calcium carbonate). Over tens of thousands of years, these drops cause speleothems to form. Formations may be produced on the ceiling, creating pendulous structures (stalactites) or structures that "grow" from the floor of the cave upwards (stalagmites). Given enough time, stalactites and stalagmites may grow together into a column.

click here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speleothem

Answer 4

A speleothem (from the Greek for "cave deposit") is a formal term for what is also known as a cave formation, or amongst cavers, collectively known as pretties. They are the result of the interactions among water, rock, and air within caves.

As water seeps through cracks in rock, it dissolves certain compounds; for caves, these compounds are usually calcite and aragonite (both calcium carbonate), or gypsum (calcium sulfate). At first, this water creates passages which grow larger over time, forming a cave. Eventually, these voids within the rock grow large enough that the seeping water contacts air, causing its solutes to precipitate. This precipitation may be a function of concentration through water removal (calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate) or through the loss of carbon dioxide (calcium carbonate). Over tens of thousands of years, these drops cause speleothems to form. Formations may be produced on the ceiling, creating pendulous structures (stalactites) or structures that "grow" from the floor of the cave upwards (stalagmites). Given enough time, stalactites and stalagmites may grow together into a column.

Various types of formations develop, depending on whether the water drips, seeps, condenses, flows, or settles into pools. Many are named for their resemblance to the man-made or natural objects they resemble. Types of formations include:
* columns, also known as stalactons, form when stalactites and stalagmites meet to form solid pillars;
* cave pearls, which are the result of water dripping from high above, then causing small "seed" crystals to turn over so often that they form into near-perfect spheres of calcium carbonate;
* dogtooth spar, very large calcite crystals often found near pools that fill seasonally;
* flowstone, which can form a variety of structures, including cave bacon and drapery;
* soda straws, chandeliers, and popcorn;
* helictites, which are stalactites that have a central canal with twig-like or spiral projections that appear to defy gravity;
* rimstone pools or goor, which are small areas that build up enough deposits around their edges to contain water;
* and many more.

Occasionally (as is the case with cave bacon) they are colored due to the presence of minerals such as iron, copper, or, more rarely, manganese. Most speleothems are brown or mud-colored because of particulate inclusions from mud or silt.

You could get more information from the link below...

Answer 5

there are a few ways, it depends on the location and the type of cave. the most common are caves that Are eroded by water over thousands of years.

Answer 6

Primary caves:

Some caves are formed at the same time as the surrounding rock. These are called primary caves.

Lava tubes are formed through volcanic activity. They are the most common primary caves. Lava flows downhill and the surface cools and solidifies. The lava now flows under this crust, until the eruption ends. If the liquid lava inside the crust flows out, a hollow tube remains.

The most important lava tubes are found on Hawaii (Big Island). Kazumura Cave near Hilo is the longest and deepest lava tube of the world and also the eighth longest cave of the United States.

Blister caves are also formed through volcanic activity.

Secondary caves

Secondary caves are formed inside the rock after the rock itself has formed by processes such as solution and erosion.

Painted Cave, one of the world's largest sea caves, Santa Cruz Island, CaliforniaSea caves are very common along coasts around the world. Also known as littoral caves, they form from wave action along zones of weakness in sea cliffs. Most commonly these are faults, but may also be dikes or bedding plane contacts. Some wave-cut caves are now high and dry due to uplift. Conversely, in places like Thailand's Phang Nga Bay, solutional caves have been flooded by the sea and are now subject to littoral erosion. Sea caves are generally rather small but may exceed 300 meters in length. One of the largest concentrations of large sea caves is found on Santa Cruz Island in California.

Glacier cave in Big Four Glacier, Big Four Mountain, Washington, ca. 1920.Glacier caves occur in ice and under glaciers, formed by melting. They are also influenced by the very slow flow of the ice which tends to close the caves again. (These are sometimes called ice caves, though this term is properly reserved for caves which contain year-round ice formations).

Solutional caves may form anywhere with rock which is soluble, and are most prevalent in limestone, but can also form in other material, including chalk, dolomite, marble, granite, salt, sandstone, fossilized coral and gypsum. The most common process of cave formation is karstification, which is the solution of rocks by rain water.

Fracture caves are formed when layers of more soluble minerals such as gypsum dissolve out from between layers of less soluble rock. These rocks fracture and collapse in blocks.

Talus caves are the openings between rocks that have fallen down into a pile, often at the bases of cliffs.

The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3 (carbonic acid) and naturally occurring organic acids. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes, sinking streams, and underground drainage.

Speleothems in Hall of the Mountain Kings, Ogof Craig a Ffynnon, South Wales.Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation, including the most common and well-known stalactites and stalagmites. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems. The world's most spectacularly decorated cave is generally regarded to be Lechuguilla Cave (New Mexico, USA).

Lechuguilla and nearby Carlsbad Caverns are now believed to be examples of another type of solutional cave. They were formed by acid rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes, rather than by acidic water percolating from the surface.

Answer 7

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/caves/form.html

Answer 8

what type of info? where they are or how formed ,explain.. go to mammouthcaves.com