MC Facts
The biggest cave in the park.
What is Dance Hall Cave?
These hang from the ceiling of caves.
What is stalactites?
The Earth system that includes rocks and landforms.
What is the geosphere?
This gas combines with water to help form caves.
What is Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
These caves form when acidic water dissolves limestone.
Whare are solutional caves?
Number of caves in the park.
What is 13?
These grow upward from the cave floor.
What is stalagmites?
This mineral makes up limestone.
What is calcite?
The Earth system that includes all water.
What is hydrosphere?
These caves are formed by physical forces like moving water or waves.
What are mechanical caves?
This used to be done in Dance Hall Cave before air conditioning.
Thin hollow cave formations that look like straws.
What is soda straws?
A rock similar to dolomite that can also form caves.
What is limestone?
This property of water allows it to dissolve minerals.
This type of landscape forms when limestone dissolves.
What is karst topography?
The cave is closed for these months.
What is November through April?
Sheet-like cave formations that hang like curtains.
What are draperies?
The main rock dissolved to form Maquoketa Caves.
What is dolomite?
When water mixes with carbon dioxide, it forms this weak acid.
What is carbonic acid?
The geologic period when many Midwestern limestone caves formed.
What is Silurian?
The caves were closed for a period of time due to this disease.
What is White Nose Syndrome?
The general name for mineral deposits found in caves.
What are speleothems?
The chemical difference between limestone and dolomite.
What is magnesium (Mg)?
The process where acidic water breaks down rock.
What is chemical weathering?
All visitors are required to do this before entering the caves.
What is wipe your feet?