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A stalagmite (, ; ; ) σταλαγμίας, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus. is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist of lava, mud, peat, pitch, sand, geyserite, and amberat (crystallized urine of ).
The corresponding formation hanging down from the ceiling of a cave is a stalactite.
If – the ceiling formations – grow long enough to connect with stalagmites on the floor, they form a column.
To preserve Stalagmites, it should normally not be touched, since the rock buildup is formed by minerals precipitating out of the water solution onto the existing surface; sebum can alter the surface tension where the mineral water clings or flows, thus affecting the growth of the formation. Oils and dirt (mud, clay) from human contact can also stain the formation and change its color permanently.
However the difference from calcareous stalagmites is that the transport of siliceous material occurs in the molten state and not dissolved in aqueous solution; degassing does not play any significant role. With lava stalagmites, their formation also happens very quickly in only a matter of hours, days, or weeks, whereas limestone stalagmites may take up to thousands or hundred thousands of years. A key difference with lava stalagmites is that once the molten lava has ceased flowing, so too will the stalagmites cease to grow. This means that if the lava stalagmites were to be broken, they would never grow back. Stalagmites in lava tubes are rarer than their stalactite counterparts because during their formation, the dripping molten material most often falls onto still-moving lava flow which absorbs or carries the material away.
The generic term "lavacicle" has been applied to lava stalactites and stalagmites indiscriminately, and evolved from the word "icicle".
Ice stalactites may also form corresponding stalagmites below them, and given time, may grow together to form an ice column.
The secondary deposits derived from concrete are the result of concrete degradation, where calcium ions are leached out of the concrete in solution and redeposited on the underside of a concrete structure to form and stalagmites. Calcium carbonate deposition as a stalagmite occurs when the solution carries the calcium laden leachate solution to the ground under the concrete structure. Carbon dioxide is absorbed into the alkaline leachate solution,Macleod, G, Hall, A J and Fallick, A E, 1990. An applied mineralogical investigation of concrete degradation in a major concrete road bridge. Mineralogical Magazine, Vol.54, 637–644. which facilitates the chemical reactions to deposit calcium carbonate as a stalagmite.Sundqvist, H. S., Baker, A. and Holmgren, K. (2005). "Luminescence in fast growing stalagmites from Uppsala, Sweden". Geografiska Annaler, 87 A (4): 539–548. These stalagmites rarely grow taller than a few centimetres.Smith, G K., (2015). "Calcite Straw Stalactites Growing From Concrete Structures". Proceedings of the 30th 'Australian Speleological Federation' conference, Exmouth, Western Australia, edited by Moulds, T. pp. 93–108.
Secondary deposits, which create stalagmites, stalactites, flowstone etc., outside the natural cave environment, are referred to as "". These concrete derived secondary deposits cannot be referred to as "" due to the definition of the word.
In the Zagros Mountains of south Iran, approximately from the ancient city of Bishapur, in the Shapur cave on the fourth of five terraces stands the 3rd-century colossal statue of Shapur I, second ruler of the Sassanid Empire. The statue, carved from one stalagmite, is nearly high.
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