Travertine terraces

Slow moving water on the floor of a passage leads to the formation of natural travertine dams and associated pools. In 2005, the year these pictures were taken, the Great Basin National Park area had received much more rain than normal, and portions of the cavern that are typically dry experienced an increase in water, and low pools like many of these filled with water, possibly allowing more calcium carbonate to precipitate. Caverns are dynamic features, evolving gradually over time. Speleothems grow very slowly, depending on the amount of mineral-rich water, the rate of evaporation, and many other factors.