Crazy cool caves

Yesterday morning I joined a group traveling west across the Island through its karst region, an area that has interesting rock formations made of limestone. Many rock outcroppings poked up as little funny looking hills in the middle of fields along the highway, but our destination was a state-run park where we'd ride a trolley tram deep into a sinkhole and walk through some giant caverns.

We saw some neat wildlife while we waited for the tram. This lizard was munching on the fruit of this tree, and the snail was lounging on a huge leaf nearby.

As we drove down into the sinkhole, the road became wetter and wetter and the vegetation more and more dense. The park down't allow tours when it rains, because all the water flowing into the caves can make it dangerous.

At the mouth of the cave, we could see the stalactites, which look like icicles of rock. They're made the same way as icicles: as water drips down from the cave ceiling, tiny minerals are left behind. Over thousands of years, the minerals add up to make a stalactite.

Inside the cave, it was very dark, but the park installed lights so we could walk safely. The main cavern was huge: over 80 feet tall. The cave was made by an underground river. The livestone it ran through dissolves more easily than other rock around it, so over time it all got washed away, and the cave was what was left. So cool!