The scientific study or exploration of caves. Stalactites are created within rooms and passageways when calcium carbonate-rich water from the surface reaches the ceiling of a room and starts to drip. Each time a water droplet collects on the ceiling, a small amount of calcium carbonate crystallizes into a calcite ring around the outside of the water droplet. As this process continues over thousands of years, icicle-shaped stalactites form. Stump-like formations formed as calcium carbonate crystallizes and builds up on the cave floor.
Stalagmites usually have a broader base and a blunter tip than the stalactites.