CAVE BOXWORK
Boxwork is a scarce cave feature characterized by a
network of intersecting veins projecting from cave walls or ceilings.
Boxwork veins are typically composed of calcite, but quartz and gypsum boxwork
have also been reported. Wind Cave in South DakotaÕs Black Hills is the
best locality on Earth for seeing abundant, well-developed boxwork. Prima
facie, boxwork appears to be ÒjustÓ the result of differential dissolution
of intensely fractured-and-veined limestone during cave formation. Research
by karst workers has shown that boxwork at Wind Cave (and other localities) has
a complex origin, and requires the original presence of carbonate and sulfate
sedimentary rocks (see Palmer, 2007).
Calcite boxwork from Wind Cave, southern Black Hills, western South
Dakota, USA (public display, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago,
Illinois, USA).
Synthesized from:
Palmer, A.N. 2007. Cave Geology.
Dayton. Cave Books & Cave Research Foundation. 454 pp.