Robert O'Brien age ll, of Ravenao New York

Which is a stalactite and which is stalagmite

Those two words confuse a lot of people. Lets try to remember which is which with a couple of rimes. Stalactite rimes with tight. The stalactite is the rocky icicle stuck tight to the ceiling of the cave. Stalagmite rimes with might. There might be a stalagmite sticking up from the floor below the stalactite, and there might not be one.

The stalactite stuck tight to the ceiling and the stalagite that might be underneath it are both made of stone. The `stone was dissolved in water as it sank through the rocks deep into the ground. The water drip‑dripped from the ceiling of the cave and slowly evaporated in the cool underground air. The dissolved stone could not evaporate and so was left behind to build into long spikes. The stalactite is made from water that oozed through the ceiling and evaporated there, The stalagmite is made from water that dripped to the floor of the cave and evaporated there.