Indiana Caverns the calcium carbonate precipitates out of the water. The calcium carbonate, in the form of the mineral calcite, a solid, crystallizes onto the bottoms and sides of existing stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, and sheets of flowstone to grow the formations over time. Other minerals are brought into the cave by flowing of water to create white, red, tan, and gray colors on the formations and walls. St. Louis Limestone is primarily made of calcite, but is also known to contain magnesium sulfate, manganese dioxide, ferric oxide, gypsum, dolomite, and aragonite. On the show tour, deposits of calcite, manganese dioxide, and ferric
Calcium carbonate equilibrium pressure must exceed total atmospheric pressure of 101 kPa, which happens at 898 °C. Calcium carbonate is poorly soluble in pure water (47 mg/L at normal atmospheric CO partial pressure as shown below). The equilibrium of its solution is given by the equation (with dissolved calcium carbonate on the right): where the solubility product for [Ca] [CO] is given as anywhere from "K" = 3.7×10 to "K" = 8.7×10 at 25 °C, depending upon the data source. What the equation means is that the product of molar concentration of calcium ions (moles of dissolved Ca per liter of solution)