Stalactites and stalagmites in the cave Avshalom, Israel

Avshalom cave located on the Western slopes of the Judean hills in Israel, is a real natural Museum (covering more than 5000 square meters), in which as exhibits on public display "exhibited" numerous stalactites and stalagmites. These growths reach about 4 m and remind wdline outlandish things: huge piece of fabric, coral reefs, or bunches of grapes...Special lighting installed in the cave, further enhance the mystical effect, so that Avshalom quite like ready scenery for a horror movie.

Recall that stalactites and stalagmites are formed from water that is mixed with limestone and drips down from the cave ceiling. For hundreds of thousands of years mineralized water drops freeze on the floor and on the ceiling, gradually forming tall columns and dangling growths.

The Avshalom cave was discovered accidentally in may 1968, during work on the extraction of building rubble. After another explosion workers saw the entrance to the cave. The first impression was fantastic: the cave shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, though it was littered with mountains of diamonds. Later, later, the first explorers saw that the sun was shining, the water that was trickling down the stalactites.

Exploring caves has engaged geologists and found that it was formed around 25 million years ago when mountain ridge of the Judean Hills rose above the surface of the water. For millennia, water saturated with carbon dioxide that seeped through the cracks and through the layer of soil that formed "decoration" of caves. Currently in the cave all year round constant temperature (+22 C) and high humidity (92 -100%), which ensures the continuous growth of stalactites and stalagmites.