Stalagmite
A mineral deposit that grows upward from a cave floor as dripping water leaves behind dissolved minerals, usually calcite.
Speleothem: A mineral deposit formed in a cave by water, including stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone. Stalagmites are one upward-growing type within this broader family of cave deposits.
Karst: Terrain shaped by the dissolution of soluble rock, especially limestone, often containing caves and sinkholes. Karst landscapes supply the caves and fractured rock through which mineral-bearing water travels.
Stalagmite morphology: The shapes and internal structures produced as stalagmites grow under different cave conditions. Columns, cones, and other forms reflect differences in drip position, chemistry, and growth rate.
Speleothem paleoclimate: The reconstruction of past climate from the chemical and physical records preserved in cave mineral deposits. Stalagmites preserve chemical signals that can track rainfall, temperature, and vegetation changes.
Stalactite: A mineral deposit that hangs downward from a cave ceiling as dripping water leaves dissolved minerals. It grows from the ceiling, opposite the upward growth of a stalagmite from the floor.
Calcite: A crystalline form of calcium carbonate and a common mineral in limestone caves. Calcite is the mineral most commonly deposited as cave water drips onto the floor.
Limestone: A sedimentary rock composed chiefly of calcium carbonate, commonly derived from biological material. Limestone is both the dissolved source of calcium and the host rock of many stalagmite caves.
Cave pearl: A rounded cave mineral deposit formed as grains roll in pools of mineral-rich water. Unlike a floor-attached stalagmite, a cave pearl grows freely in a cave pool.
Uranium–thorium dating: A radiometric dating method that uses uranium decay to thorium in carbonate materials. It can determine the ages of calcite layers in many stalagmites.
Dripstone: A cave deposit formed by dripping water, especially stalactites and stalagmites. Stalagmites belong to this drip-formed group, which also includes ceiling-hanging deposits.