Carlsbad Caverns - massive travertine speleothems

The massive travertine speleothems, particularly the great stalagmites of the Big Room, reflect the antiquity of the air-filled phase of the Caverns' history. The monumental stalagmites formed over tens of thousands of years, as water slowly dripped, splashed, flowed, and dried, leaving behind a trace of calcite (travertine) with each drop. Some of these massive speleothems formed long ago, and are now dry.