Illuminated Stalagmite

by Sandra Pena de Ortiz

Title

Illuminated Stalagmite

Artist

Sandra Pena de Ortiz

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

FEATURED ARTWORK: Digital Veil FAA group - 4/11/2013

The beauty and mystery of nature displayed in this photograph of a stalamite, seen in the shadow, emerging from the ground in a deep area within Las Cuevas de Camuy in Camuy, Puerto Rico, the third largest cave system in the world and one of the most popular attractions in the island. A stalagmite (from the Greek stalagmias, meaning "dropping, trickling") is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain and sometimes they get thinner to the top. The stalagmite that is the subject of this image has a wider base but one can see the upward conical-like structures at its right side. The reason the cave is illuminated, specifically behind his stalagmite is because there is a small lighting system throughout some parts of the cave, lanterns on the ground, to allow for better view inside during tours. Las Cuevas de Camuy as they are popularly known in the island of Puerto Rico are comprised by a complex cave system that is the central attraction of The Camuy River Cave Park or Parque de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy. This park located between three municipalities in northwestern Puerto Rico: Camuy, Hatillo, and Lares; the principal entrance to the park being at Quebrada, Camuy. The Camuy River Cave Park is 268 acres and its great subterranean caverns were carved out by the Camuy River more than one million years ago. The trails, which allow local and worldwide visitors to enter and observe the subterranean natural marvel, are maintained impeccably gently descending 200 feet through a fern-filled ravine to the yawning, cathedral-like caverns. When one enters into the Camuy Cavers, there is a feeling or sense of being transported to another, hidden surreal world full splendid geometrical naturally formed structures. The cave system was explored by the Taino Indians, who were Puerto Rico's first inhabitants. The cavern system was rediscovered in 1958 and was first documented in the 1973 book Discovery At The Rio Camuy (ISBN 0-517-50594-0) by Russell and Jeanne Gurnee.

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March 31st, 2013

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