Due to the fact that we live in the Northwest corner of Arkansas, in the Ozark Mountains, our team wanted to focus some of our attention on the caves in this area that we call home.
     We found that the rock in the Ozarks is quite different from other areas.  It is not quite permanent, and it has a way of disappearing that accounts for the caves in the region.  The Ozark caves are made up of limestone and dolomite.  These rocks are composed of calcium carbonate.  Dolomite is limestone with a good deal of calcium magnesium carbonate in it.  Both of these are very porous.  They are also vulnerable to the dissolving action of water.   Porosity and solubility are the key factors in the formation of the region's caves.
     Our class had the opportunity to spend two days at the Ozark Natural Scienc Center in Northwest Arkansas.  On our morning hike we entered a cave.  It had a bluff over the entrance.  As soon as you entered a pile of rocks of many sizes stacked up to the ceiling.  A small hole or crack called a crevice led to the main entrance of the cave.  This was a limestone cave with a dirt bottom.