Photo : Gérard Delorme

It is the quality of concretion which makes this cave so interesting. ‘Concretion’ is the term used to describe the mineral deposits which form on the cave walls when the calcite present in water crystallizes.
When water drips onto the cave ceiling it leaves behind a little of its soluble calcite which, over time, develops downward-pointing calcite crystals in more or less cylindrical forms, known as stalactites.
An equivalent deposit develops on the cave floor when a droplet of water falls there forming, little by little, stalagmites.
Obviously, depending on the amount of water, the shape of the underground tunnels, and a number of other factors, the concretions adopt a wide variety of shapes : columns, drapery etc.

The most unusual and the rarest form of calcite concretions are known as «eccentric concretions» ; these are thin, twisted fingers which bend in all directions seeming to defy the law of gravity. This particularly stunning effect is only seen in relatively few caves with the appropriate conditions: the porosity of the limestone, the quantity of water dripping down the cave walls, the micro-climatic conditions of the cave etc.
The «Maxange Caves » exhibit precisely this type of eccentric concretion in bunches lining the walls and ceiling of the caves over quite a distance. Their profusion, elegance and sparkling purity are extremely impressive. The Maxange Caves present a genuine geode.