Squire Boone Caverns is a solutional cave. Soda Straw Stalactites are thin-walled, hollow tubes about a quarter inch in diameter. They form as water runs through their centers and deposits rings of calcite around the tips of the formations. Stalactites grow down from the ceiling and form as mineral layers are deposited by water flowing over the outside of the soda straws. They form after the centers of the hollow soda straws become plugged.
Stalagmites grow up from the floor where mineral laden water drips from above.
Stalagmites are often, but not always, found beneath stalactites. They have flat or rounded tops as compared to the carrot shaped stalactites. Columns are formed when stalactites and stalagmites grow together or when one of them grows all the way to the floor or ceiling. Cave Coral or Popcorn is irregular clusters or rough knobs of crystalline calcium carbonate. They build up on walls and existing formations as mineral-laden water seeps through the pores of the rocks.