Any farmer who has ever sunk a well knows how important it is that his well reach below the water table if he is to be assured a continuous supply of water. Well owners also know that the water table can rise or fall due to any of several natural causes, such as an abundance of rainfall for a few seasons, or any great lack of rainfall for an extended length of time. When the water table goes below the lowest reaches of the well, no more water can be pumped, and it is necessary to extend the well further into the earth until it again goes below the water table and reaches into the saturated area where water is abundant. The water table is not constant around the world, even though water seeks its own level. The water table might be high in one section of the country, low in another. It might be kept high by an abundance of rain, or remain low due to outlets such as springs or underground seepages. The vadose-water area also varies, and the effects created by the rise and fall of the water table in one section of the country, for example, might be vastly different than the effects in an adjacent territory. This explains why any action of underground water in one area is not necessarily duplicated in an apparently identical area close by. With an understanding of the two water zones, and the demarcation line between, we can more readily comprehend just how the Caverns were formed. Geologists are now pretty well in agreement that the enclosing rocks of the Caverns were located in the ground-water zone under saturated conditions. As we already know, large cracks existed in the otherwise solid limestone. Then, for many, many years the ground water dissolved the limestone, enlarging the cracks bit by bit, until the huge Caverns were formed. At this point the water table was lowered, and, in time, the Caverns ceased to exist in the ground-water zone. Following the lowering of the water table, the Caverns were nothing more than empty holes in the earth. Now the second phase of their "growth" was to begin. When the ground water could no longer continue its constant gnawing action on the limestone, the Caverns had reached their maximum size. From now on they would begin to fill up again. The second of the two cycles consisted of mineral deposit brought about by water seeping downward from the surface, carrying lime for the secondary formations which are today one of the great features of the Caverns. Water in the vadose zone, seeking the ground-water level, would seep into the top of the many rooms and galleries. Each drop contained a minute portion of limestone. Some drops would remain on the ceiling, where the moisture would evaporate, leaving a tiny ring of limestone deposit behind. As these limestone deposits accumulated they formed a pendant mass resembling an icicle which is called a stalactite. Drops falling to the floor would produce deposits known as stalagmites.