Through the Woods: Below the woods

Missouri has the distinction of being second on the list of “state with most caves” in the United States. We are definitely a “cave state” with more than 7,000 known caves. Tennessee ranks first with more than 10,000 known caves.

People who explore caves are called spelunkers. Spelunkers often study cave formations and animals that live in caves. Many kinds of animals live in caves. Some of them such as cave fish, cave crayfish and cave salamanders spend their entire lives in cave streams. Most of them are completely blind.

In my photo, you can see two kinds of cave formations. In the foreground are a few "stalagmites" that have formed on the cave floor. A little farther back a "column" has formed that reaches from floor to ceiling. A third kind of formation, the one that hangs from the ceiling, is called a "stalactite".

Horrell is an artist and outdoorsman. He lives in Chaffee. He owns Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau.