How is limestone formed?
Feb 28, 2021
The main component of limestone is calcium carbonate, which can be dissolved in water containing carbon dioxide.In general, a liter of water containing carbon dioxide can dissolve about 50 milligrams of calcium carbonate.
Geologists surveyed the Guilin area and found that the water there dissolves and erodes a layer of limestone about the thickness of a fingernail every year.Although this is only a small amount of erosion each year, the history of Earth's development is extremely long.The Quaternary, the most recent geological period, is about three million years old.Even at this slow rate of dissolution, 900 meters can be dissolved in 3 million years!And Guilin's Gu Feng is only a hundred or two hundred meters high, the maximum height of the common karst cave is only dozens of meters.
However, not all places with limestone can form this kind of landform, but need a large area, large thickness, geologically pure limestone, and also require warm and humid climate conditions to develop into such a perfect landform, the formation of such a beautiful natural scenery.
