Caverns are a sight to behold

Caverns are a sight to behold.  This gallery features pictures of Luray Caverns in the United States; more precisely in Shenandoah Valley of Virginia State which itself is famous for its scenic trails and the Shenandoah National Park.

Scientists estimate the caverns to be as old as 450 million years or so.  The formations are the work of water mixed with carbon dioxide (mild carbonic acid) sweeping through limestone layers and dissolving away the weaker minerals while leaving the harder ones behind. As water continues to drip through the chambers, carbon dioxide is released and the dissolved minerals in the droplets crystallises. (The resulting formations are called speleothems.)

The process is so slow that the formations grow only at one cubic inch over 120 years. Flow stones in the caverns, formed when water seeps down a wall or over a cave floor depositing layers of minerals, grow at even slower rate.

Cave formations in Luray have been named after its shape and other features such as Amphitheatre, Dream Lake and Cathedral. The deepest part of the caverns is 164 feet below the surface of earth.