• 11 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Cave Formations Labeled: Stalactites, Stalagmites and Speleothems

A limestone cave cut open: tap a formation to read its name, then take the quiz or print it blank.

Cave Formations Labeled: Stalactites, Stalagmites and Speleothems

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Stalactite
  2. Stalagmite
  3. Column
  4. Soda straw
  5. Flowstone
  6. Drapery (cave bacon)
  7. Helictite
  8. Cave pearls
  9. Cave popcorn
  10. Water drop
  11. Limestone

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: water in the rock, an aquifer

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 6 formations 6

  1. Stalactite Hangs from the roof and grows downward, drip by drip. It usually ends in a point.
  2. Stalagmite Builds up from the floor where the drips land. Its top is usually rounded.
  3. Column A stalactite and a stalagmite grown together.
  4. Soda straw A thin hollow tube hanging from the roof.
  5. Flowstone Sheets of stone laid down by flowing water.
  6. Drapery (cave bacon) A thin wavy sheet hanging from a sloping roof. With bands in it, it is called cave bacon.

More in the cave 5

  1. Helictite A twisted growth that turns in any direction. Gravity does not guide it.
  2. Cave pearls Small round stones that form in shallow cave pools.
  3. Cave popcorn Small knobby clusters on a cave wall. Another name is coralloids.
  4. Water drop Carries dissolved mineral into the cave, drop by drop.
  5. Limestone The rock the cave was dissolved out of. Rainwater turns weakly acid in the soil and dissolves it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-03 in two sources, counting the two National Park Service pages as one. (1) US National Park Service, Caves and Karst, Speleothems, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/speleothems.htm (stalactites, soda straws, helictites, stalagmites, columns, flowstone, draperies or cave bacon, coralloids or cave popcorn, cave pearls; how a drop leaves mineral behind). (2) US National Park Service, Caves and Karst, Solution Caves, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/solution-caves.htm (limestone dissolved by weakly acid water). (3) Wikipedia, Speleothem, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speleothem, and its article Soda straw (the same names; a soda straw as a hollow tube; the caption of its labeled picture lists flowstone, columns, drapery, stalagmites, stalactites and straws; limestone and the water that dissolves it). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

Cave formations are called speleothems: mineral deposits left where water drips, flows or pools in a cave. This drawing has six of the best known with labels, then five more parts of the cave.

Read the full guide

Start with six

Find the stalactites hanging from the roof and the stalagmite under them. Where the two have met there is a column. Soda straws are the thin tubes, flowstone spills down the right wall, and the striped sheet on the left is a drapery, also called cave bacon.

More in the cave

Helictites twist across the roof, cave pearls lie in the pool, and cave popcorn is the knobby patch on the left wall. Water drops fall from roof to floor, and limestone is the rock all around.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite?

A stalactite hangs from the cave roof and usually ends in a point. A stalagmite builds up from the floor under the drips and usually has a rounded top. When the two grow together they make a column.

What are the six most common speleothems?

Lists differ. One encyclopedia image showing six speleothems with labels has flowstone, columns, drapery, stalagmites, stalactites and soda straws. The National Park Service calls stalactites the most common and says cave popcorn probably comes next after stalagmites and flowstone.

What is a speleothem?

A cave formation: a deposit of minerals left over time by water that drips, flows or pools in a cave. Stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone are all speleothems.

How do stalactites form?

Water seeping through limestone carries dissolved mineral. When a drop hangs from the cave roof, a trace of that mineral is left behind. Drop after drop, the deposit grows downward into a stalactite.

What is cave bacon?

A drapery with bands in it. A drapery is a thin, wavy sheet of stone that forms where water runs down a sloping cave roof. The bands make it look like a strip of bacon.

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