Stalactites & stalagmites are the most commonly encountered speleothem types. They form by dripping water, and are thus varieties of dripstone. Slowly dripping water results in large/long stalactites hanging from cave ceilings. Rapidly dripping water results in large/tall stalagmites projecting upward from cave floors.

Stalagmites and stalactites are some of the best known cave formations. They are icicle-shaped deposits that form when water dissolves overlying limestone then re-deposits calcium carbonate along the ceilings or floors of underlying caves.

In karst, spaces or conduits form in the subsurface that allow for rapid movement of groundwater. Water moves quickly from the earth's surface underground in these places. Naturally formed underground spaces that people can enter are called caves.

The calcareous deposits from dripping of water in dry caves are called dripstones. The columns of dripstones hanging from the cave ceiling are called stalactites while the calcareous columns of dripstones growing upward from the cave floor are known as stalagmites.

ing to the journal Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, stalactites and stalagmites are both types of dripstones, named because they form from dripping water. But you might also see flowstones and cave popcorn.

A landscape that is characterized by numerous caves, sinkholes, fissures, and underground streams. Karst topography usually forms in regions of plentiful rainfall where bedrock consists of carbonate-rich rock, such as limestone, gypsum, or dolomite, that is easily dissolved.

Formations that go from the cave ceiling to the cave floor are columns. Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling, and Stalagmites might grow to the ceiling from the floor. A Flowstone is formed from calcite-rich water flowing in a sheet and usually resembles a frozen waterfall.