Bulletin of the National Speleological Society - ISSN 0146-9517
Number 12: 63-72 - November 1950

A publication of the National Speleological Society

Formation and Mineralogy of Stalactites and Stalagmites
Forrest L. Hicks

Abstract

Stalactites and stalagmites are shown to be formed from over sixty minerals and several other substances by a precipitation of the mineral, by solidifying from its liquid state, and by several less common means. Factors affecting their rate of growth, and their shape include the rate of incoming flow, rate of evaporation, chemical composition of the solution, and the size of the stalactite or stalagmite, according to the author of this most interesting article.

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