Solutional cave and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation. These include flowstones, stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, soda straws, calcite rafts and columns. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called "speleothems". Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with HCO (carbonic acid) and naturally occurring organic acids. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as "karst", characterized by sinkholes, and underground drainage. Solutional caves in this landform—topography are often called karst caves. Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico and nearby Carlsbad Cavern are now believed
Calcium carbonate acid to "dissolve" the calcium carbonate. where [A] = [HPO] + [HPO] + [HPO] + [PO] is the total acid concentration. Thus phosphoric acid is more efficient than a monoacid since at the final almost neutral pH, the second dissociated state concentration [HPO] is not negligible (see phosphoric acid). Calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO. It is a common substance found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite (most notably as limestone, which is a type of sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcite) and is the main component of pearls and the shells