Stalactite a cave it will drip down. When the solution comes into contact with air the chemical reaction that created it is reversed and particles of calcium carbonate are deposited. The reversed reaction is: An average growth rate is a year. The quickest growing stalactites are those formed by a constant supply of slow dripping water rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO) and carbon dioxide (CO), which can grow at per year. The drip rate must be slow enough to allow the CO to degas from the solution into the cave atmosphere, resulting in deposition of CaCO on the stalactite. Too fast
Speleogen Speleogen A speleogen is a geological feature within a karst system that is created by the dissolution of bedrock. As rain water falls through the atmosphere it picks up carbon dioxide and more as it passes through organic material in the soil. As water moves through joints and cracks in calcium carbonate bedrock, more dissolution of the bedrock occurs and the bedrock features that are left are the speleogens. This process called speleogenesis is what leads to secondary formations or speleothems. The United States Code defines speleogens as "relief features on the walls, ceiling, and floor of any cave or