Floor (Inventory)/Breakdown
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Breakdown is collapsed cave ceilings or walls. The size can vary from small chips and flakes to much larger blocks, slabs and boulders. The size of a breakdown block is limited only by the size of the passage in which it fell. | Breakdown is collapsed cave ceilings or walls. The size can vary from small chips and flakes to much larger blocks, slabs and boulders. The size of a breakdown block is limited only by the size of the passage in which it fell. | ||
| - | Most breakdown fell as the water table dropped during the transition from [[Glossary (Inventory)#Phreatic|phreatic]] to [[Glossary (Inventory)#Vadose|vadose]]. So, any feature which is a natural part of the bedrock (such as [[Fossils (Inventory)|fossils]]) and those that formed during the phreatic phase (such as [[Calcite (Inventory)/Spar|spar]]) may be found in breakdown. Breakdown may have fallen onto features such as clays and massive gypsum and secondary formations can form in, under, around and over breakdown. Examine the breakdown itself and the spaces around it for other inventory items. | + | Most breakdown fell as the water table dropped during the transition from [[Glossary (Inventory)#Phreatic|phreatic]] to [[Glossary (Inventory)#Vadose|vadose]]. So, any feature which is a natural part of the bedrock (such as [[Fossils (Inventory)|fossils]]) and those that formed during the phreatic phase (such as [[Calcite (Inventory)/Spar|spar]]) may be found in breakdown. Breakdown may have fallen onto features (such as [[Clays (Inventory)|clays]] and [[Gypsum (Inventory)/Beds, Massive|massive gypsum]]) and secondary formations can form in, under, around and over breakdown. Examine the breakdown itself and the spaces around it for other inventory items. |
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 21:09, 3 July 2011
The Breakdown field of the Floor section should be used to list stations where breakdown is identified as one of the floor features.
Breakdown is collapsed cave ceilings or walls. The size can vary from small chips and flakes to much larger blocks, slabs and boulders. The size of a breakdown block is limited only by the size of the passage in which it fell.
Most breakdown fell as the water table dropped during the transition from phreatic to vadose. So, any feature which is a natural part of the bedrock (such as fossils) and those that formed during the phreatic phase (such as spar) may be found in breakdown. Breakdown may have fallen onto features (such as clays and massive gypsum) and secondary formations can form in, under, around and over breakdown. Examine the breakdown itself and the spaces around it for other inventory items.
References
- Palmer, Arthur N. (2007) Cave Geology CAVE BOOKS, Dayton, OH pp 161-163 ISBN-13: 978-0-939748-66-2, ISBN-10: 0-939748-66-5
- unknown (1997) Geology of Carlsbad Caverns Class - 1997 Memorial Day Expedition p 2
