grotto
Small decorative cave
A grotto is a small cave, especially one that's picturesque or has been artificially created for ornamental purposes.
Natural grottos often feature in coastal landscapes, while artificial ones appear in gardens and parks as decorative retreats: The garden path led to a shaded grotto with a fountain.
Grottos also serve as religious shrines, particularly Catholic ones dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Hanging cave mineral deposit
- stalagmiteUpward-growing cave deposit
- cavernLarge natural underground chamber
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- karstEroded soluble rock terrain
chamber · speleology · spelunker · underground · calcite · flowstone · dripstone · sinter
Christ's mother, or pop icon
- LourdesFrench pilgrimage town
- votiveOffered in devotion
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
devotion · prayer · candle · sacred · blessing · saint · Mary · miraculous
Water-spouting structure
- rockworkConstructed stone arrangements
- ferneryPlace for growing fronds
- waterfallDescending river over precipice
- pondSmall still body
folly · bower · arbor · shell · moss · ivy · fern · ornamental
Set apart, private
- hiddenKept out of sight
- refugePlace of safety
- hideawaySecluded place of refuge
- shelterProtected place or structure
solitude · privacy · tranquil · peaceful · quiet · sheltered · romantic · intimate
Nature spirit or larva
- mermaidFish-tailed ocean woman
- sirenWailing alert device
- naiadFreshwater spirit of myth
- NeptuneEighth planet or sea deity
Poseidon · enchanted · fairy · magical · underworld · otherworldly · legend · fantastical
stalactite
Hanging cave mineral deposit
- stalagmiteUpward-growing cave deposit
- cavernLarge natural underground chamber
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
karst · chamber · speleology · spelunker · underground · calcite · flowstone · dripstone · sinter · mineral
Madonna
Christ's mother, or pop icon
- LourdesFrench pilgrimage town
- votiveOffered in devotion
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
apparition · devotion · prayer · candle · sacred · blessing · saint · Mary · miraculous · healing
fountain
Water-spouting structure
- rockworkConstructed stone arrangements
- ferneryPlace for growing fronds
- waterfallDescending river over precipice
pond · folly · bower · arbor · shell · moss · ivy · fern · ornamental · landscaping
secluded
Set apart, private
shelter · solitude · privacy · tranquil · peaceful · quiet · sheltered · romantic · intimate · escape
nymph
Nature spirit or larva
Neptune · Poseidon · enchanted · fairy · magical · underworld · otherworldly · legend · fantastical · dwelling
- cavescave, cavern, caves, caverns, ancient caves
- sacred placestemple complex, basilica, abbey, church, chapel
- cave dwellingscliff dwelling, rock shelter, dugout, Mesa Verde, pueblo
- sacred spacessanctuary, chapel, sanctum, mandir, prayer hall
- shrineswayside shrine, ancestral shrine, spirit house, jinja, haiden
- Marian ApparitionsFatima, Lourdes, Guadalupe, apparitions, visions
grottoopen plain
Broad, unobstructed flat terrain
meadow · clearing · open field · prairie · expanse
- Santa's grottoFestive display where children visit
- the grotesqueDisturbing aesthetic ugliness
- grotesque imageryDisturbing, distorted depictions
- grotesque charactersDisturbingly strange fictional beings
- Blue GrottoIlluminated coastal cavern
- grotesque figuresUgly ornamental sculptures