Cueva de Villa Luz
aka: Cueva de las Sardinas
(Southern Mexico)
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Penny looking at samples near the entrance of the cave.
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In the "Villa Luz," bacteria use a gas called hydrogen sulfide for
food. These sulfur-loving bacteria then release sulfuric acid as a
waste. This acid (like the acid in a car battery) eats away at the rock
and drips from the wall. The scientists call these snottites because
they look like what comes out of your nose when it is runny.
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Bacteria make acid that eats away at the cave walls.
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Kathy says that "bacteria make a lot of slime when there's a lot of
food." The SLIME team discovered that all this energy in "Villa Luz"
is food for someone else too!
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Next, find out what kinds of critters swim through
the water and crawl on the walls of Cueva de Villa Luz?
This web site Copyright 2007, 2011, Kenneth
Ingham