Hierve el Agua mountainside. The water has a temperature of . As the water runs down the rock face, it forms large stalactites similar to those found in caves. The flow of water from the spring varies significantly between the dry and rainy seasons. 95% of the surface rock formations are of calcium carbonate; however, lower layers of both rock and water currents are little known as they are sealed by the above layers. The calcium carbonate gives the formations a white or near white appearance, but other minerals that can be present in the water, such as silver, barium and iron can
Amorphous calcium carbonate following Ostwald's step rule, which states that the least stable polymorph will precipitate first. But while ACC is the first product to precipitate, it rapidly transforms into one of the more stable polymorphs within seconds. When in pure CaCO, ACC transforms within seconds into one of the crystalline calcium carbonate polymorphs. This transformation from amorphous to crystalline is proposed to be a dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism. Despite ACC’s highly unstable nature, some organisms are able to produce stable ACC. For example, the American Lobster "Homarus americanus", maintains stable ACC throughout its yearly molt cycle. Studies of biogenic ACC have also shown that