Hello dear cachers,
at the coordinates you find some small caves. The roofs of the caves show an interesting detail of Hawaiis past.
The 'cones'
You see a kind of 'cones' growing from the top down. Stalactites are formed usually by an erosion process called 'karst'. Rocks are dissolved by erroding (sometimes acid) water. The solution runs through cracks and the minerals recrystalize inside a cave, forming 'cones' growing downside.
The karst process
Water dropping down may form 'cones' growing up from the ground, so called stalactites. This process takes several thousandsof years. Due to a change in chemistry of the mineral solution over the time, stalactites usually show different color zones like rings in a tree.
To log this EarthCache, have a close look to the 'cones' in the caves, compare their structure with the surface of the cave roof and answer the following questions via our profile page:
- Could you find stalactites?
- Could you see different color zones?
- Do you think, these structures are stalactites?
- What observation guides your decision?
- With your answers, what do you think, how these 'cones' were formed?
- How were the caves formed?
- Add a foto from nearby that proofes your visit. Please do not spoil geological features!