• Wind Cave National Park - Two Worlds

    Wind Cave

    National Park South Dakota

Speleothems - Cave Popcorn

Cave popcorn with frostwork
Cave popcorn with frostwork
NPS Photo by Paul Horsted
 
Small, knobby growths of calcite on the cave walls are called cave popcorn. Popcorn commonly forms in one of two ways in the cave: where water seeps uniformly out of the limestone wall and precipitates calcite; or, when water drips from the walls or ceilings of the cave and the water splashes on the floor or on ledges along the walls. This splashing action causes loss of carbon dioxide and the subsequent precipitation of calcite.
 

More Speleothems:
Boxwork | Calcite Rafts | Dogtooth Spar |
Flowstone/Dripstone | Frostwork |
Gypsum Features | Helictite Bushes

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    Cave Geology and Hydrology Read More

Did You Know?

Sign used at Wind Cave in 1903 when the cave became a national park.

Wind Cave is the first cave in the world to be designated as a national park. That occurred on January 9, 1903.