How are Caves formed?

Do you like exploring various places? Did you ever visit a cave? Did it fascinate you? Who doesn't love the idea of traveling to places and discovering the unique features of nature?

If you are someone who ticks the boxes to the above questions, then you sure might have been mesmerized by the beauty of a cave. Did it leave you thinking how caves are formed naturally? How does erosion form them? Or are they formed in limestone? How could such beautiful structures be formed all naturally without man’s intervention? It does look very beautiful both from the inside and the surface, once you experience a visit to a cave; it leaves a mark in your mind.

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How Are Caves Formed?

There are various kinds of caves, depending on what kind of caves they are and how are they are formed.

#1. Molten rock can form them from a volcanic eruption.

#2. When acidic water trickles down through rocks they have the power to melt limestone down. If this continues to happen for a longer period of time, the rocks melt and holes are formed in them. These finally become caves. They break or a hole is made on the rocks due to constant exposure to acidic water. Limestone is quite stable in clean water. When the water tends to become acidic, due to its constant exposure to soil and rotten plants, a constant contact with this kind of water causes the limestone to erode.

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#3. Caves are also caused due to erosion that takes place when rocks keep coming in contact with the sea water. This can happen in various ways. Sometimes the constant flow of the sea water over the rocks leads to erosion. This leads to the formation of caves. Then there are times when the water keeps moving within a cave in a circular motion causing the cave to acquire a circular shape. The sea water also cuts through rocks and makes way for itself, and leads to the formation of caves or tends to cut through the rock which forms a cave later.

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#4. Caves are also formed due to various kinds of chemical processes. Whether they may be caused by the chemical composition of the water the rocks come in contact with. Or there are chemical reactions that take place in rocks themselves. They can be affected by various weather and atmospheric changes. Some of them are formed due to constant exposure to various kinds of chemical processes for a long period of time.

Other than these usual factors that lead to the formation of caves, there are many other stories that are related to the formation of a cave and the significance of caves in various age old stories. We also know about the association of the mystic. Mystics are often said to have inhabited caves. There is always this rustic aura around caves, giving us hints of the stories they have been witness to.

Did find this article informative enough to satisfy your curiosity regarding the formation of caves? Would like some other things to be included in it? Please let us know your opinion, by commenting below.

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