The Wookey Hole Caves were formed about 400 million years ago by the rainwater boring through the limestone. The underground streams and lakes, which swirled around to form caverns, finally emerge as the river Axe. The caves contain the deepest sump in Britain at 67m.
Stalacties are secondary minerals that commonly form on the ceiling of limestone caves. Stalagmites are formations that rise out of the ground of caves - formed by calcium salt deposits left from water drips. Therefore the difference lies within where they are formed within the cave.
water rich in dissolved carbonate drips from the ceiling of caves. As it drips, carbonate (CaCo3) precipitates out bit by bit, creating the stalactite.
Dissolution features such as dolines and sink holes as well as caves are common when limestone wihin the earth is dissolved.
Limestone is the rock that is in Caves. When carbonate acid is reacted to the limestone in the caves, it will corrode forming strange caves landforms.
Caves, their stalactite and stalagmite formations (calcite by precipitation & crystallising of the calcium carbonate) - and scale in kettles etc using water that has passed through the limestone uplands.
The address of Wookey Hole Caves is Wookey Hole, Wells BA5 1BB, United Kingdom.
Wookey Hole is in Somerset, south west England.
The Mendips are a range of hills, mainly in Somerset UK, south of Bristol. They start in the sea at Brean Down and go east until Frome. They are mainly limestone, and there are lots of caves, including show caves at Cheddar and Wookey Hole.
The Mendip Hills.
Stalacmites and stalactites are found in all land caves including Wookey Hole with some that reach over 20 feet! +++ Not in "all" land caves, but certainly in most limestone caves - though even many of these have extensive series of passages with no formations in them. Sadly, I don't think there are any stalactites 20+ft long in Wookey Hole, unless in the further reaches recently opened to tourists but which I have not visited. If there were, the 18C poet Alexander Pope probably stole them: he engaged marksmen to shoot stalactites down to decorate an artificial garden in his garden!
Cheddar Gorge in Somerset is famous for its limestone caves, including Gough's Cave which is open to the public for tours. It is also renowned for its production of Cheddar cheese, which has been made in the area for centuries.
Yes, Wookey Hole was used as a storage facility for Madame Tussauds during World War II to protect the wax figures from potential bombing raids in London.
Yes they are. In example, Wookey Hole in Somerse, England.
Gus Wookey's birth name is Augustus David Wookey.
The Mendip Hills.
Erosional caves are formed by the action of water or wind.
Limestone caves are formed through a process called chemical weathering. Rainwater, which is slightly acidic, dissolves the limestone rock over time, creating small cracks. These cracks then widen as more water flows through, eventually forming caves. Additionally, some limestone caves are formed through the erosion of underground rivers.