NM Dept. Logo New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Bulletin 117
Geology of Carlsbad Cavern and other caves in the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico and Texas

PLATES
Plate 13—A—Worm-like helicities, Hell Below Cave. Photo Alan Hill.

B—Cave rafts forming on the surface of a small pool in Virgin Cave. Thin, scum-like rafts formed in the middle of the pool and became thicker where they attached to the edge of the pool. Eventually the rafts could thicken enough to become shelfstone. Subaqueous coralloids can be seen in the upper left of the plate. Photo Alan Hill.

Plate 14—A—"Spanish-Moss" stalactites, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave. The "moss" formed when the stalactites became submerged. Photo Alan Hill.

B—A stalactite about to join with its counterpart stalagmite to form a column, Black Cave. Photo Alan Hill.

Plate 15—A—Epsomite coton, Lower Cave, Carlsbad Cavern. Photo Cyndi Mosch Seanor.

B—Epsomite soda straws and stalactites, lower Gypsum Passage, Cottonwood Cave. Photo Alan Hill.

Plate 16—A—The Temple of the Fire God, a colorful flowstone cascade, Three Fingers Cave. Photo Alan Hill.

B—Black onyx flowstone, Sand Passage, Carlsbad Cavern. The joint along which water entered the passage to form the flowstone is the same joint that forms the north wall of Bat Cave. The flowstone has many bat bones embedded in it, and the black coloration is believed to be due to leaching of guano in overlying Bat Cave. Photo Wayne Burks.


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Last Updated: 28-Jun-2007