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File:Travertine stalactite (dripstone) (fissure in Tanglewood Limestone Member, Lexington Limestone, Middle Ordovician; Mercer Stone Company Quarry, east of Harrodsburg, Mercer County, central Kentucky, USA) 1 (15518857358).jpg

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Travertine stalactite (dripstone) from the late Cenozoic of Kentucky, USA (18.5 cm long).

The general term for all secondary mineral deposits occurring in caves is speleothem. Between 200 and 300 different minerals have been reported to occur in various speleothems around the world. The most common speleothem minerals are calcite (CaCO3), aragonite (CaCO3), and gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O). Calcitic speleothem is given the rock name travertine.

Varieties of cave travertine are named based on morphology and origin. The most common type is dripstone, formed by dripping water. Examples include stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. Other varieties include flowstone, knobstone (a.k.a. coralloids), helictites, shelfstone, rimstone, cave pearls, frostwork, etc.

The specimen shown above is a travertine stalactite, which is a variety of dripstone. Dripstone forms by precipitation of minerals from dripping water. Dripstone structures attached to cave ceilings are called stalactites. Dripstone structures on cave floors are called stalagmites.

Age & geologic context: late Cenozoic; speleothem-lined fissure in the Tanglewood Limestone Member, Lexington Limestone, Middle Ordovician

Locality: Mercer Stone Company Quarry, ~0.5 miles east of the town of Harrodsburg, southeast-central Mercer County, central Kentucky, USA
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Source Travertine stalactite (dripstone) (fissure in Tanglewood Limestone Member, Lexington Limestone, Middle Ordovician; Mercer Stone Company Quarry, east of Harrodsburg, Mercer County, central Kentucky, USA) 1
Author James St. John

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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/15518857358 (archive). It was reviewed on 6 December 2019 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

6 December 2019

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current03:19, 6 December 2019Thumbnail for version as of 03:19, 6 December 2019868 × 3,564 (605 KB)Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

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