Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.


A layered deposit of calcium carbonate or another mineral, formed by water flowing along the walls or floor of a cave. Also called dripstone.


a type of cave formation consisting of sheets of calcite deposited as water flows down the cave walls; flowstone is the most common type of speleothem



a layered deposit of calcium carbonate, CaCO3, left by thin sheets of flowing water, as in a cave.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
The flowstone contains uranium, which over time decays into thorium.
Its passages are stuffed with fantastical stalactites and curtains of flowstone.
It may last for second or a minute or two or, in the case of flowstone, for many years.
Banana Grove, Paradise Lost Flowstone, Ghost Room, Belly of the Whale, and The Dome and the Pit may sound like song titles, but they are names of formations and rooms in this cave with the only active limestone formations in Oregon.
Rainwater percolating through the caves has festooned their interiors with impressive speleothem features such as stalagmites, stalactites, and flowstone formations (Figure 4).
During the course of this excavation, it became clear that the skeleton had been subjected to ancient disturbance and breakage through partial collapse into a lower cavity and that calcareous flowstone had subsequently filled voids formed around the displaced bones.
And when you need to talk sounds come from stone repeating you, and like wind, your words stir up the chambered air and from the flowstone women shake their hair as if they knew.
Have participants help you decorate the cave with soda straws, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flowstone. (More on this in the "Cave Decorations" section below.) This provides a hands-on activity as well as explaining the creation of the beautifully decorated deposits we see in caves.
Extending over the left side of the figure is a flowstone deposit (speleothem cover) which extends across part of the animal's muzzle and antler set.
Dr Nash added: "We've also been incredibly lucky at this site because you can only date engravings like this if something overlies them such as flowstone (stalagmite).
Ten led the way up a slippery path, pointing out geologic formations sprouting from the floor and ceiling, and forming flowstone columns where stalactites and stalagmites grew together.
The use of caves has numerous advantages: relative protection (particularly in locked caves), stable temperatures, and the simple identification of active faults as indicated by ruptures in flowstone. However, caves with (observed) faults represent only rare and often unique points in the geological environment.