American Holidays

[kymoose]

Good questions....good questions.  Well, it's been a while but as I recall a chrystal is a form of mineral.  Minerals have a "chrystalline form."  Minerals are made up of a certain chemical composition (like calcium or barium, etc.).

Rocks on the other hand may have several minerals that make up there composition.  Then you have the whole pressure and temperature thing but they may get confusing.

Stalagmites are cave formations rising from the ground up, stalagtites form from the ceiling down.

Are you ready to rawk...........Springfield?

[tomEisenbraun]

the way i remembered the two was that StalcTITEs hang on TIGHT to the ceiling, and there was some other thing about stalagmites. But the stalactites are the hangy-downy ones

[EC]

Well, the guy at Mammoth Cave said yesterday that stalactyte has a "c" for ceiling, and stalagmyte (I'm totally spelling this wrong but I only have 45 minutes left on the computer) has a "g" for ground.  Which is helpful.

And fucking hell are they cool.  They're caused by drops of water that leave their mineral deposit as they leave the surface, and the ones on the ground are from the drops.  Then, sometimes they join up and are called columns.  There are things called curtains as well.

It's all extremely wicked.  :)

(hey everyone)

[kymoose]

Right on EC, you are a cave expert.  A regular spee-lunck-er.

[jonjon]

There is a cave in Alabama where a hollow column was formed. During the tour, our guide said that you can beat on it like a drum. 10 min. later, the guide informed me that I was holding up the group. But, the resonance of the column and being in a cave...I didn't want to leave.

Now, my rock question. Rocks contain minerals. You need vitamins and minerals to supplement the body. Can you get this by sucking on a rock? Logic hard at work and not working at all.

I never studied geology, but my mom said that she used to get so mad because she was always emptying rocks out of my pockets. I still collect rocks to this day. I have "road-dogs" from all of my trips and was blessed with rocks from Galloway Bay(?) Ireland, Madrid and Africa. Nope, don't want a T-shirt, just bring me a cool rock.