What does stalagmite mean?
Word: Stalagmite
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Stalagmite means a column of rock that rises from the floor of a cave.
How do you spell stalagmite?
Syllables: sta - lag - mite
Tricky part: Pupils mix this word up with stalactite, which hangs from the roof. The two part ways in the middle, where this one has a g.
Watch out for: stalacmite, stalagnite
Memory tip: This rock starts on the ground, so give it the g for ground.
Stalagmite in a sentence
Example 1: A stalagmite may gain only a tiny bit of height each year, so a tall one can be thousands of years old.
Example 2: We saw a stalagmite shaped like a candle at the Borra Caves in Andhra Pradesh.
Example 3: Torchlight made the pale stalagmite glow in the dark.
Fun Fact
The name comes from a Greek word for a drop. Given enough time, a stalagmite may meet the rock hanging above it, and the two join to form a single pillar.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
st_l_gmite
a) e, a
b) o, a
c) a, a
d) a, e
Show answer
c) a, a. Its partner on the cave roof shares these two vowels, so the same letter goes in both gaps.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our science teacher showed us a photo of a stalagmyte and explained how minerals build it up.
a) stalagmyte
b) science
c) minerals
d) photo
Show answer
a) stalagmyte. The word ends the way granite and white do, with an i and an e around the t.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) stalagmite
b) erosion
c) sediment
d) volcanoe
Show answer
d) volcanoe. Volcano has no e on the end.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
tmgealsati
a) stalagmite
b) staggering
c) statistics
d) stagnation
Show answer
a) stalagmite. The m settles it: none of the other three words has one.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does a stalagmite take so long to grow?
a) each drip leaves only a trace of mineral
b) cave air is too cold for rock to form
c) sunlight rarely reaches so far underground
d) bats keep breaking off small pieces
Show answer
a) each drip leaves only a trace of mineral
2. A lesson on stalagmites would fit best in ____.
a) a history class
b) a music class
c) a civics class
d) a geography class
Show answer
d) a geography class
