Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania Travel Guide 2025
Get Into Formation
2024-11-28 10:38:45
Pennsylvania is home to plentiful show caves with dazzling crystals and wow-worthy cave formations (speleothems) made over the course of millions of years. Study up on common terms and see how many you can spot on a guided cave tour.
REMEMBER!
Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling; Stalagmites you might trip over.
Stalactite
These icicle-shaped speleothems on cave ceilings are made from dripping water depositing minerals over (a very, very long) time. See plentiful examples of these at Crystal Cave in Kutztown.
Stalagmite
These cave formations look like inverted icicles sprouting from the floor. At Woodward Cave in Woodward, see one of the largest stalagmites in the region: a 14-foot-tall specimen dubbed the “Tower of Babel.”
Column
What happens when a stalactite and a stalagmite meet? They form a union called a column. See massive columns on a boat tour at Penn’s Cave & Wildlife Park, an all-water cavern in Centre Hall.
Soda Straw
The earliest growth phase of a stalactite, these super thin, delicate formations are hollow, translucent tubes of calcite. See these geological beauties at Indian Echo Caverns in Hummelstown.
Cave Popcorn
These small, knobby, calcite formations are common in limestone caves, and they look like … well, popcorn. Keep an eye out for these at Lincoln Caverns & Whisper Rocks in Huntingdon.
Flowstone
When water flows down the walls of caves, depositing carbonate minerals along the way, it creates these flowy, cascading formations. Take a guided walking tour of Lost River Caverns in Hellertown to spot them.
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