The best known deposits in Kentucky are in caves near the Mammoth Cave region. It also occurs as a surface deposit associated with ground-water seeps and springs, and may be collected around crevices in most limestone quarries. An attractive deposit of travertine may be seen at Elk Lick Falls in Fayette County, where it forms the impressive Petrified Falls. Travertine may be found in stalactitic, stalagmitic, columnar, nodular, encrusting, and many other forms. Travertine is the chief scenic attraction of caves and it should not be destroyed, because it grows very slowly.
Dolomite is the chief mineral in dolostone.
It is also associated with calcite, galena, sphalerite, barite, and fluorite. Dolomite is found in nodules or geodes in some limestone quarries and in some of the vein deposits in the State. Barytocalcite is a polymorph of alstonite and may fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Barytocalcite has been observed in some mineral veins in Cumberland County. It also occurs in fibrous, granular, and earthy forms.