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| This view is looking up from the pit area in the Frozen Niagara area at columns, travertine draperies, and stalactites. Travertine formations occur in this section of the cave because cracks and fractures in the ceiling allow surface water to eventually migrate downward into this section of the cave. Most of the other portions of Mammoth Cave have the protective sand and shale caprock formations that overly the limestone beds where the caverns have formed. These impervious rocks form a water migration barrier (technically called an aquiclude) that prevents water from migrating into the dry cavern, as a result, most parts of the cavern do not have speleothems. |
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