HOW THEY GROW

1 5,000 YEARS OLD

Stalactites grow at a rate of around 0.13 millimetres each year.

3 7,000 YEARS OLD

If water drips through the cave faster, stalactites can grow three millimetres per year.

2 6,000 YEARS OLD

It takes nearly 1,000 years for a stalactite to grow ten centimetres.

4 10,000 YEARS OLD

If they grow long enough, stalactites and stalagmites can meet in the middle.

5 15,000 YEARS OLD

These floor-to-ceiling structures are known as cave columns.

The bumps on the wall of this cave are called cave popcorn