rashbre central: stalactite and stalagmite

Saturday 1 June 2013

stalactite and stalagmite

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Instead of reporting from today's scenic beach/harbour/cafe, I thought I'd go underground. We'd decided to head for some nearby caves.

I was genuinely surprised at the scale and quantity of stalactites and stalagmites, almost from the moment we entered. I always think that stalactites have to hold on Tight - because they are the ones that hang down and stalagmites Grow upward. But that's just me*.
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From the start when we were hardly a few metres below ground, we were already in vast chambers dating five or more million years ago into the miocene period. That's proper 'Planet of the Apes' territory. And I can't remember seeing real stalactites before - although I've been into other caves and mines and seen them on telly.

It wasn't just a handful. There were millions of them. All sizes and shapes, including some that looked almost like paper or cloth. The caves were around a kilometre long and descended to around 25 metres - I gather they have been formed by the pounding of the Mediterranean into the rocks.

Our guide was quite helpful, but I decided that my Spanish/German and his English didn't quite transfer the information, so I'll spend some quiet time checking the facts later.

For now, I'll just be amazed.
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* others use 'c' for ceiling and 'g' for ground

2 comments:

OldLady Of The Hills said...

This a FANTASTIC!!! What an Amazing place. Beautiful and Mysterious! Hard to fathom how ancient they are...!

rashbre said...

Naomi I know, it somehow seems different seeing them for real compared with on television.