Zhijindong Cave
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16-2-1-Features of stalactites in Zhijindong Cave
Timer：2024-05-08
There are lots of stalactites different in sizes and scales hanging at the celling of Zhijindong Cave, and most of them are thick at the upper part and slim at the lower part. Generally speaking, they are large in scales, with a diameter of 10-90cm and length of 20-190cm. Their morphotypes mainly consist of common type (inverted cone shape or rodlike shape), flag shape, curtain shape, shield shape, lung lobe shape, tongue shape, breast shape and phototropic type.
Phototropic stalactites and tongue-shaped stalactites (Right)
Morphotypes and features of stalactites in Zhijindong Cave
| Morphotype | Main development features | Main development area |
| 1 Common stalactite | Its shape is mainly inverted cone-shaped and rodlike which is “thick at the upper part and slim at the lower part”; their sizes are different with the diameter generally between 10 to 90cm and length between 20 to 190cm. | Widely distributed everywhere of the cave, large in quantity and common in sightseeing |
| 2 Flag-shaped stalactite | It looks like cave flags but is greatly different from them: it has a thicker top from 10 to 20cm, and it becomes thinner from middle to the lower part, presenting a flat flag shape with a thickness of 2 to 5cm; as for the cave flag, it is flat with its whole body, presenting a flag shape. | Dispersedly distributed in some places of the cave, small in quantity and less common in domestic caves. |
| 3 Curtain-shaped stalactite | It looks like stone curtain, which is thicker at the top, with a thickness between 10 to 20cm, and it gradually becomes thinner from its middle to its lower part, presenting a shape of flat curtain, with a thickness between 2 to 5cm. | |
| 4 Shield-shaped stalactite | A special type of “shield-shaped” stalactites is formed by the synergy of shields and stalactites, which is connected by shields at the top and stalactites at the bottom. | |
| 5 Tongue-shaped stalactite | It looks like a tongue, and the upper part is a little bit wider than (almost with the same diameter) the lower part | Widely distributed everywhere inside the cave, large in quantity and common in sightseeing |
| 6 Breast-shaped stalactite | It looks like a breast of a lady hanging at the celling of cave walls. | |
| 7 Lung lobe-shaped stalactite | It looks like lung lobes hanging at the celling of cave walls | |
| 8 Phototropic stalactite | The bottom of stalactite slightly inclines and curved towards outside direction (following the light direction in the cave entrance), growing and developing without fully affected by the gravity of dripping water. | Distributed mainly at the part of cave entrance with light |
