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Boxwork in caves, Wind Cave National Park, 2014.

Boxwork is an uncommon mineral structure called a speleogen, which means it was formed by erosion rather than accretion like a speleothem. Boxwork is made of thin blades of calcite projecting from cave walls and ceilings that intersect at various angles, forming a honeycomb or similar pattern. The specific origin of boxwork remains one of the biggest mysteries of Wind Cave NP. However, according to researchers, many of the walls in Wind Cave have resistant fins of calcite from which the surrounding limestone and dolomite bedrock have been weathered away. The veins of calcite form along narrow fractures that resulted from stresses produced when mineral gypsum dried and rehydrated. Thus, the calcite filled the fractures and took on the shape of the original gypsum.

U.S. National Park Service

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Wind Cave National Park, Code: WICA

National Park Service Facebook Photos

Title: Wind Cave National Park
URL: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wind-Cave-National-Park/127899503922510?fref=ts

20140826

08/26/2014

Public Can View

Organization: Wind Cave National Park
Address: 26611 US Highway 385, Hot Springs, SD 57747-6027

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