Quiz on Geological Features

A mound or tapering (it comes to a point) column rising from the floor of a cave, formed of calcium carbonate deposited by dripping water.

• spelunking

• cave

• stalactite

• helictite

• stalagmite

Among the most beautiful of cave formations, these structures cling to a surface as they stream slowly downward. They are deposited in thin sheets. Ripples and folds in the structures often remind people of cloth that hangs from windows.

• stalactite

• spelunking

• cave

• stalagmite

• drapery

Cave deposit that has a branching, curved, or spiraled shape and may grow in any direction in seeming defiance of gravity.

• stalagmite

• cave

• stalactite

• helictite

• spelunking

A small animal that normally lives entirely in the dark parts of caves, often with no functioning eyes or no pigmentation. Some of these types of animals include spiders, fish, and salamanders.

• troglobite

• cave

• spelunking

• stalagmite

• stalactite

When water (e.g. rainwater) mixes with carbon dioxide gas in the air or in air pockets in soil, it produces a weak acid solution. When this acid flows through the cracks of some rocks, it chemically reacts with the rock causing some of it to dissolve.

• carbonic acid

• cave

• spelunking

• stalactite

• stalagmite

A rock structure hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave that forms a point. It is formed of calcium carbonate deposited by dripping water.

• cave

• helictite

• stalactite

• stalagmite

• spelunking

A large underground chamber, typically of natural origin, in a hillside or cliff.

• cave

• stalagmite

• stalactite

• spelunking

• helictite

A type of landscape where the dissolving of the bedrock has created sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, springs, and other characteristic features. It is associated with soluble (dissolvable) rock types such as limestone, marble, and gypsum.

• stalactite

• spelunking

• stalagmite

• cave

• karst

The exploration of caves, especially as a hobby.

• helictite

• stalagmite

• stalactite

• cave

• spelunking