answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Weak acids seep into the ground until they reach a zone soaked with water. As the ground water become more acidic, it dissolves calcite and other minerals in the rock. Over time, the action of the acidic water produces holes in the rock. The holes grow, creating passages, chambers, and pits, and eventually become caves.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

In caves formed in limestone, by far the most common, dissolution of the limestone's primary constituent, Calcium Carbonate, by water acidified slightly by absorbed atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. This may be augmented by humic acids from the top-soil through which it percolates.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

That depends on the type of cave. Limestone caves are formed through chemical weathering, where carbonic acid and organic compounds in ground water dissolve the carbonate minerals away, leaving a cave. Other types of caves, such as those in sandstone, are uually formed through mechanical weathering by wind or water.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Some caves, those in limestone formations especially, are formed by chemical weathering.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

Chemical.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Chemical

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

10y ago

No

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What causes the formation of caves chemical or mechanical weathering?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

Explain the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering?

In chemical weathering, there is a chemical reaction that causes weathering. Mechanical weathering is caused by fire, abrasions of water along a surface, animals, or freezing and thawing.


Water causes what type of weathering?

Water causes mechanical and chemical weathering.


What mechanical weathering causes rock to flake off in layers?

Chemical.


What is the natural process that causes rock to breakdown?

Weathering from mechanical and chemical means is the process that causes rocks to become smaller and smaller; wind, rain, the sun, the freeze/thaw cycle, moving glaciers, chemical reactions, and gravity are some of the causes of weathering.


Weathering by abrasion is usually caused by?

Wind-blown sand causes Mechanical Weathering of rocks by abrasion


How many main causes cause mechanical weathering?

4 main causes cause mechanical weathering!


What is mechanical wearthering?

Mechanical weathering is the process of weathering that causes disintegration in rocks but does not change the chemical compound of the rocks. Things like frost, rivers, and tree roots cause mechanical weathering. A large example of this would be the Grand Canyon in Arizona.


What type of weathering causes exfoliation?

Exfoliation is primarily caused by physical weathering processes such as thermal expansion and contraction, where daily and seasonal temperature changes cause rocks to expand and contract, leading to the outer layers of rock peeling off in sheets. This process is especially common in areas with extreme temperature fluctuations like deserts.


What type of weathering causes acid rain?

carbonation is an example of chemical weathering carbonation is an example of chemical weathering


How does climate effect mechanical weathering?

Mechanical weathering refers to weathering that causes physical erosion of exposed rock without changing its chemical composition. Climate helps promote or prevent things like frost and wind that create this form of weathering.


What is one difference between chemical and mechanical weathering?

Chemical weathering is the breaking down of a rock on a minute level, like the solution of minerals. Mechanical weathering is the breaking down of a rock, sometimes causing a crack through an entire strata, resulting in mass movement; but mostly mechanical weathering is as a result of a factor which causes the rock to physically separate.


What type of weathering causes the formation of an underground cave?

This would usually be caused by the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestones. Dissolution is a chemical weathering process.