July 18, 2011
Also part of our Lake Shasta trip was a guided tour of Shasta Caverns during which we learned the layman’s terms for several cave formations. Lots of structures were named after foods, but my favorites were Cave Bacon and Cave Draperies. Like stalactites, these formations grow from the ceiling. When a ridge in limestone causes water to travel along a line building up calcium deposits over time, a rippling effect will occur – Cave Bacon. After hundreds and thousands of years, those ripples get longer and longer and eventually turn into Cave Draperies. The visual is just too easily imagined – bacon draperies. Here is a little cave mole with his posh interior decoration for your amusement:
