Like Broken Teeth They Make Me Cringe

Probably had a hammer taken to them.

IMG_6926, originally uploaded by Mic2006.

These shattered stumps of stalactites are a good reason why the caves should remain anonymous in their location. Certain, easily accessible areas are quite badly vandalized but deeper where crawling and exploration beyond the daylight is required the environment is still pristine. Looking under a low shelf into the no-go area you can see in the distance some really incredible stuff - “pretties” as cavers refer to them.

Notice the concentric layers in the crossection. The rock is deposited as CO2 gasses off reducing the amound of mineral that can be held in suspension. Stalactites grow in length until they become blocked and then deposition on their outer surface gives them their characteristic carrot shape.