Y
ou can't get caves forming in the wall of a canyon that hasn't even formed yet, juvie.

I can't believe you teach geology.
I assume the rock existed before the canyon. Should that be the case? So the cave could be made in between the time of the rock and the canyon.
What "favourable chemistry"? Provide an example, because it strikes me you're just making things up to save face.
Yes, it is hypothetical (who knows what exactly happened?). But it is not that hard to spell out the favorable conditions. It is simply an environment in which carbonate is favorable to precipitate, such as: saturated Ca, alkaline solution, warm T, etc. (check your geochem book. Did you skip that course?).