This creates steplike terraces along streams and on cave floors that enclose pools of water. Saltpeter A salt mined from caves, which was used for the production of gunpowder. Show Caves Caves that are open to the public for guided tours. Scallops Scallops are one of the two most common characteristics of cave walls. The other is anastomoses.
Scallops are spoon-shaped hollows dissolved in limestone floors, walls, and ceilings.
These scallops are created by the flow of underground streams. The size and shape of the scallops indicates the last sustained direction and rate of flow of the underground streams or rivers. Faster current was indicated by the smaller the scallop. The sinkholes help guide rainwater and melting snow into underlying caves like a funnel. This is important environmentally because this can allow surface sewage, animal waste, pesticides, and other pollutants into the underground water supply that travels through an underground labyrinth of cave systems.