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Karst
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Mainpage Forotheruses,seeKarst(disambiguation).
Contents
Karsttopographyisalandscapeformed
Featuredcontent
Currentevents
fromthedissolutionofsolublerockssuch
Randomarticle aslimestone,dolomite,andgypsum.Itis
DonatetoWikipedia characterizedbyundergrounddrainage
Wikipediastore systemswithsinkholesandcaves.[1]Ithas
Interaction alsobeendocumentedforweathering
Help resistantrocks,suchasquartzite,giventhe
AboutWikipedia rightconditions.[2]Subterraneandrainage
Communityportal maylimitsurfacewaterwithfewtonorivers kocjanCaves,Slovenia
Recentchanges
orlakes.However,inregionswherethe
Contactpage
dissolvedbedrockiscovered(perhapsby
Tools debris)orconfinedbyoneormore
Whatlinkshere
superimposednonsolublerockstrata,
Relatedchanges
distinctivekarstsurfacedevelopments
Uploadfile
Specialpages
mightbetotallymissing.
AkarstlandscapeinMinerve,
Permanentlink
Contents[hide] Hrault,France
Pageinformation
Wikidataitem 1 Etymology
Citethispage 2 Chemistry
2.1 Dissolutionmechanism
Print/export
3 Morphology
Createabook
DownloadasPDF 4 Hydrology
Printableversion 5 Interstratalkarst
6 Kegelkarst
Inotherprojects
7 Pseudokarst
Wikimedia
Commons 8 Notablekarstareas
ThePuertoPrincesaUnderground
9 Historicalstudiesandearlytheories River,Philippines
Languages
10 Listoftermsforkarstrelatedfeatures
Aragons 11 Seealso
Azrbaycanca 12 References
13 Furtherreading
14 Externallinks
Catal
etina
Cymraeg
Dansk
Etymology [ edit ] Globaldistributionofmajor
Deutsch outcropsofcarbonaterocks(mainly
Eesti TheEnglishwordkarstwasborrowedfrom limestone,exceptevaporites)
Espaol GermanKarstinthelate19thcentury.[3]
Esperanto TheGermanwordcameintousebeforethe
Euskara
19thcentury.[4]Accordingtotheprevalent

interpretation,thetermisderivedfromthe
Franais
Gaeilge GermannamefortheKarstregion(Italian:
Galego Carso),alimestoneplateauabovethecity
ofTriesteinthenorthernAdriatic(now
locatedontheborderbetweenSlovenia
andItaly,inthe19thcenturypartofthe ThekarsthillsofTheBurrenonthe
Hrvatski
AustrianLittoral).[5]Scholarsdisagree, westcoastofIreland
BahasaIndonesia
slenska
however,onwhethertheGermanword
Italiano (whichshowsnometathesis)wasborrowed
fromSlovene.[6][7]TheSlovenecommon
BasaJawa nounkraswasfirstattestedinthe18th
century,andtheadjectiveformkrakiinthe

16thcentury.[8]Asapropernoun,the

SloveneformGrastwasfirstattestedin
Latina
Latvieu 1177,[9]referringtotheKarstPlateaua
Ltzebuergesch regioninSloveniapartiallyextendinginto ElTorcaldeAntequera,Andalusia,
Lietuvi Italy,wherethefirstresearchonkarst Spain
Limburgs topographywascarriedout.TheSlovene
Magyar
wordsarosethroughmetathesisfromthe

reconstructedform*kors,[8]borrowedfromDalmatianRomancecarsus.[9]
Nederlands
Ultimately,thewordisofMediterraneanorigin,[9]believedtoderivefromsome
Norskbokml RomanizedIllyrianbase.[8]Ithasbeensuggestedthatthewordmayderivefromthe
Norsknynorsk ProtoIndoEuropeanrootkarra"rock".[9][10]Thenamemayalsobeconnectedto
Occitan theoronymKar(u)sdiosoroscitedbyPtolemy,andperhapsalsotoLatin
Ozbekcha/ Carusardius.[8][9]
Polski
Portugus
Romn Chemistry [ edit ]

Thedevelopmentofkarstoccurswhenever
Scots
acidicwaterstartstobreakdownthe
SimpleEnglish
Slovenina surfaceofbedrocknearitscracks,or
Slovenina beddingplanes.Asthebedrock(like
/srpski limestoneordolostone)continuestobreak
Srpskohrvatski/ down,itscrackstendtogetbigger.Astime

Suomi goeson,thesefractureswillbecomewider,
Svenska andeventually,adrainagesystemofsome Karstlake(DoberddelLago,Italy)
sortmaystarttoformunderneath.Ifthis fedbyanundergroundwatersource
Trke intoadepressionwithnosurfaceinlet
 undergrounddrainagesystemdoesform,it oroutlet
TingVit willspeedupthedevelopmentofkarst

arrangementstherebecausemorewater
Editlinks
willbeabletoflowthroughtheregion.[11]

Dissolutionmechanism [ edit ]

Thecarbonicacidthatcausesthese
featuresisformedasrainpassesthrough
theatmospherepickingupcarbondioxide
(CO2),whichdissolvesinthewater.Once DolineinthecaussedeSauveterre,
Lozre,France
therainreachestheground,itmaypass
throughsoilthatcanprovidemuchmore
CO2toformaweakcarbonicacidsolution,whichdissolvescalciumcarbonate.The
primaryreactionsequenceinlimestonedissolutionisthefollowing:

H2O + CO2 H2CO3

CaCO3 + H2CO3 Ca2+ + 2HCO3

Inparticularandveryrareconditionssuch
asencounteredinthepastinLechuguilla
CaveinNewMexico(andmorerecentlyin
theFrasassiCavesinItaly),other
mechanismsmayalsoplayarole.The
oxidationofsulfidesleadingtotheformation
ofsulfuricacidcanalsobeoneofthe
corrosionfactorsinkarstformation.As LijiangRiver,Guilin,China
oxygen(O2)richsurfacewatersseepinto
deepanoxickarstsystems,theybring
oxygen,whichreactswithsulfidepresentinthesystem(pyriteorhydrogensulfide)
toformsulfuricacid(H2SO4).Sulfuricacidthenreactswithcalciumcarbonate,
causingincreasederosionwithinthelimestoneformation.Thischainofreactionsis:

H2S + 2O2 H2SO4 (sulfideoxidation)

H2SO4 + 2H2O SO2
4 + 2H3O+ (sulfuricaciddissociation)
2 2
CaCO3 + Ca2+ + H2CO3 + (calciumcarbonatedissolution)
H3O+ H2O
(globalreactionleadingtocalcium
CaCO3 + H2SO4 CaSO4 + H2CO3
sulfate)
CaSO4 + 2H2O CaSO42H2O (hydrationandgypsumformation)

Thisreactionchainformsgypsum.[12]

Morphology [ edit ]
Thekarstificationofalandscapemayresult
inavarietyoflargeorsmallscalefeatures
bothonthesurfaceandbeneath.On
exposedsurfaces,smallfeaturesmay
includesolutionflutes(orrillenkarren),
runnels,limestonepavement(clintsand
grikes),collectivelycalledkarrenorlapiez.
Mediumsizedsurfacefeaturesmayinclude LimestonepavementinDentde
sinkholesorcenotes(closedbasins), Crolles,France

verticalshafts,foibe(invertedfunnel
shapedsinkholes),disappearingstreams,andreappearingsprings.Largescale
featuresmayincludelimestonepavements,poljes,andkarstvalleys.Maturekarst
landscapes,wheremorebedrockhasbeenremovedthanremains,mayresultin
karsttowers,orhaystack/eggboxlandscapes.Beneaththesurface,complex
undergrounddrainagesystems(suchaskarstaquifers)andextensivecavesand
cavernsystemsmayform.

Erosionalonglimestoneshores,notablyinthetropics,produceskarsttopography
thatincludesasharpmakateasurfaceabovethenormalreachoftheseaand
undercutsthataremostlytheresultofbiologicalactivityorbioerosionatoralittle
abovemeansealevel.Someofthemostdramaticoftheseformationscanbeseen
inThailand'sPhangngaBayandHalongBayinVietnam.

Calciumcarbonatedissolvedintowatermayprecipitateoutwherethewater
dischargessomeofitsdissolvedcarbondioxide.Riverswhichemergefromsprings
mayproducetufaterraces,consistingoflayersofcalcitedepositedoverextended
periodsoftime.Incaves,avarietyoffeaturescollectivelycalledspeleothemsare
formedbydepositionofcalciumcarbonateandotherdissolvedminerals.

Hydrology [ edit ]

Farminginkarstareasmusttakeinto
accountthelackofsurfacewater.Thesoils
maybefertileenough,andrainfallmaybe
adequate,butrainwaterquicklymoves
throughthecrevicesintotheground,
sometimesleavingthesurfacesoilparched
betweenrains.

Akarstfensteroccurswhenan
AkarstspringintheJuramountains
undergroundstreamemergesontothe
nearOuhansineasternFranceatthe
surfacebetweenlayersofrock,cascades sourceoftheriverLoue
somedistance,andthendisappearsback
down,oftenintoasinkhole.Riversinkarst
areasmaydisappearundergroundanumberoftimesandspringupagainin
differentplaces,usuallyunderadifferentname(likeLjubljanica,theriverofseven
names).AnexampleofthisisthePopoAgieRiverinFremontCounty,Wyoming.At
asitesimplynamed"TheSinks"inSinksCanyonStatePark,theriverflowsintoa
caveinaformationknownastheMadisonLimestoneandthenrisesagain800m
(12mi)downthecanyoninaplacidpool.Aturloughisauniquetypeofseasonal
lakefoundinIrishkarstareaswhichareformedthroughtheannualwellingupof
waterfromtheundergroundwatersystem.

Watersuppliesfromwellsinkarsttopographymaybeunsafe,asthewatermay
haverununimpededfromasinkholeinacattlepasture,throughacaveandtothe
well,bypassingthenormalfilteringthatoccursinaporousaquifer.Karstformations
arecavernousandthereforehavehighratesofpermeability,resultinginreduced
opportunityforcontaminantstobefiltered.Groundwaterinkarstareasisjustas
easilypollutedassurfacestreams.Sinkholeshaveoftenbeenusedasfarmstead
orcommunitytrashdumps.Overloadedormalfunctioningseptictanksinkarst
landscapesmaydumprawsewagedirectlyintoundergroundchannels.

Thekarsttopographyalsoposesdifficultiesforhumaninhabitants.Sinkholescan
developgraduallyassurfaceopeningsenlarge,butprogressiveerosionis
frequentlyunseenuntiltheroofofanundergroundcavernsuddenlycollapses.
Sucheventshaveswallowedhomes,cattle,cars,andfarmmachinery.IntheUnited
States,suchacavernsinkholeswallowedpartofthecollectionoftheNational
CorvetteMuseuminBowlingGreen,Kentuckyin2014.[13]

Interstratalkarst [ edit ]

Interstratalkarstisakarsticlandscapewhichisdevelopedbeneathacoverof
insolublerocks.Typicallythiswillinvolveacoverofsandstoneoverlyinglimestone
strataundergoingsolution.IntheUnitedKingdomextensivedolinefieldsdeveloped
atMynyddLlangynidracrossaplateauofTwrchSandstoneoverlyingconcealed
CarboniferousLimestone.[14]

Kegelkarst [ edit ]

Kegelkarstisatypeoftropicalkarstterrainwithnumerousconelikehills,formedby
cockpits,mogotesandpoljesandwithoutstrongfluvialerosionprocesses.Itis
foundinCuba,Jamaica,Indonesia,Malaysia,thePhilippines,PuertoRico,southern
ChinaandVietnam.[15]

Pseudokarst [ edit ]

Pseudokarstsaresimilarinformorappearancetokarstfeaturesbutarecreatedby
differentmechanisms.Examplesincludelavacavesandgranitetorsforexample,
LabertoucheCaveinVictoria,Australiaandpaleocollapsefeatures.MudCavesare
anexampleofpseudokarst.
Notablekarstareas [ edit ]

Mainarticle:Listofnotablekarstareas

Theworld'slargestlimestonekarstis
Australia'sNullarborPlain.Sloveniahasthe
world'shighestriskofsinkholes,whilethe
westernHighlandRimintheeasternUnited
Statesisatthesecondhighestriskofkarst
sinkholes.[16][17] ChocolateHills,conicalkarsthillsin
ChocolateHillsofthePhilippines,isalsoa Bohol,Philippines

notablekarsttopography.Theyare
chocolatecolouredconicalkarsthillswidespreadintheheartofBohol,theisland
provinceofCentralVisayas.

InNorthAmerica,theOzarksofsouthernMissouriandnorthernArkansasare
karstic.MexicohostsimportantkarsticregionsintheYucatnpeninsulaand
Chiapas.[18]

TheArbuckleMountainsofsouthcentralOklahomacontainintenselyfoldedand
faultedcarbonatebedsthathaveproducedsomeofthehighestdensitiesofkarst
featuresfoundintheUnitedStates.Duetothenatureoftheupliftedbeds,the
ArbuckleMountainscontainsasequenceoflimestoneridgesandshalevalleys.
Thiscauseswaterfallstodevelopwherecreeksdescendoveralimestoneridgeinto
ashalevalley.Becausethewatersarerichincalciumcarbonatedissolvedfromthe
karstsystem,largedepositsoftravertinehaveaccumulatedonthewaterfallswhere
turbulencecausesmineralprecipitation.Themostnotableofthesewaterfallsis
TurnerFallsnearthecityofDavis.

Historicalstudiesandearlytheories [ edit ]

JohannWeikhardvonValvasor,apioneer
ofthestudyofkarstinSloveniaandafellow
oftheRoyalSocietyforImprovingNatural
Knowledge,London,introducedtheword
karsttoEuropeanscholarsin1689,
describingthephenomenonof
undergroundflowsofriversinhisaccount
ofLakeCerknica.[19] Karsticlimestonesasstatuaryin
ShenyangImperialPalace,Shenyang,
In1893,JovanCvijiinhisDas
China
Karstphnomentheorizedholokarstas
thetypefoundalongtheeasternAdriatic
Sea,andmerokarstimperfectlydevelopedwithsomekarstformsasthetypeof
karstthatisfoundineasternSerbia.Heclaimedthatmosttypesofdolines,"the
diagnostickarstlandforms",werecreatedbyrockdissolution.[citationneeded]
Listoftermsforkarstrelatedfeatures [ edit ]

Seealso:Speleothem

ManykarstrelatedtermsderivefromSouthSlaviclanguages,whichentered
scientificvocabularythroughearlyresearchinWesternBalkanDinaricAlps'karst.

Abme,averticalshaftinkarstthatmaybeverydeepandusuallyopensintoa
networkofsubterraneanpassages
Cenote,adeepsinkhole,characteristicofMexico,resultingfromcollapseof
limestonebedrockthatexposesgroundwaterunderneath
Foibe,aninvertedfunnelshapedsinkhole
Scowle
Turlough(lake)(turlach),atypeofdisappearinglakecharacteristicofIrishkarst
Uvala(landform),acollectionofmultiplesmallerindividualsinkholesthat
coalesceintoacompoundsinkhole.WordderivesfromSouthSlaviclanguages.
Karren,bandsofbarelimestoneformingasurface
Limestonepavement,alandformconsistingofaflat,incisedsurfaceofexposed
limestonethatresemblesanartificialpavement
Polje(karstpolje,karstfield),alargeflatspecificallykarsticplain.Thename
poljederivesfromSouthSlaviclanguages.
Doline,alsosinkorsinkhole,isacloseddepressiondrainingundergroundin
karstareas.Thenamedolinecomesfromdolina,meaningvalley,andderives
fromSouthSlaviclanguages.
Ponor,alsosinkorsinkhole,andderivesfromSouthSlaviclanguages.
Sinkingriver,orponornicainSouthSlaviclanguages.
Karstfenster(karstwindow),afeaturewhereaspringemergeswiththewater
dischargeabruptlydisappearingintoasinkhole.

Seealso [ edit ]

Glaciokarst Subterraneanriver
Thermokarst Listoflandforms
Speleology Karstjger
Scowle

References [ edit ]

1. ^WhatisKarst,UniversityofTexas 12. ^Galdenzi,S.Cocchioni,M.

atAustin
2. ^GeomorphologicalLandscapesof
theWorld.
3. ^ShorterOxfordEnglishDictionary.
2002.Vol.1,AM.Oxford:Oxford
UniversityPress,p.1481.
4. ^Seebold,Elmar.1999.Kluge
Morichetti,L.Amici,V.Scuri,S.
(2008)."Sulfidicgroundwater
chemistryintheFrasassiCave,
Italy" (PDF) .JournalofCaveand
KarstStudies.70(2):94107.
13. ^
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/trave
 4. ^Seebold,Elmar.1999.Kluge
EtymologischesWrterbuchder
deutschenSprache,23rdedition.
Berlin:WalterdeGruyter,p.429.
5. ^
http://www.etymonline.com/index.ph
p?
allowed_in_frame=0&search=karst&s
earchmode=none
6. ^Pfeiffer,Dieter.1961."Zur
DefinitionvonBegriffenderKarst
Hydrologie."Zeitschriftder
DeutschenGeologischen
Gesellschaft113:5160,p.52
7. ^Prtner,Rudolf.1986.Bevordie
Rmerk amen:StdteundSttten
deutscherUrgeschichte.Rasatt:
PabelMoewigVerlag,p.88.
8. ^ a b c dSnoj,Marko.2003.
Slovensk ietimolok islovar.2nd
edition.Ljubljana:Modrijan,p.318.
9. ^ a b c d e Bezlaj,France(ed.).1982.
Etimolok islovarslovensk ega
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/trave
l/corvettemuseumsinkhole
14. ^http://www.blaenau
gwent.gov.uk/documents/Documents
_Environment/PH4_SSSI_Notification
_Letter.pdf
15. ^Whittow,John(1984).Dictionaryof
PhysicalGeography.London:
Penguin,1984,p292.ISBN014
051094X.
16. ^http://www.apsu.edu/news/harned
bowlworknotblamenewsinkhole
sayexperts
17. ^
http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2009
/02/25/whatiskarsttopographyand
whyshouldyoucare/
18. ^Mora,L.,Bonifaz,R.,Lpez
Martnez,R.,(2016)."Unidades
geomorfolgicasdelacuencadelRo
GrandedeComitn,Lagosde
Montebello,ChiapasMxico"
(PDF) .BoletndelaSociedad

jezik a,vol.2,KO.Ljubljana:SAZU, GeolgicaMexicana(inSpanish).68

p.82. (3):377394.
10. ^Gams,I.,KrasvSlovenijiv 19. ^PaulLarsen,Scientificaccountsof
prostoruincasu(KarstinSloveniain avanishinglak e:JanezValvasor,
spaceandtime),2003,ISBN961 Lak eCerk nicaandtheNew
6500465. Philosophy,2003.
11. ^"WhatisKarst(andwhyisit
important)?" .KarstWaters
Institute.

Furtherreading [ edit ]

Ford,D.C.,Williams,P.,KarstHydrogeologyandGeomorphology,JohnWiley
andSonsLtd.,2007,ISBN9780470849965
Jennings,J.N.,KarstGeomorphology,2nded.,Blackwell,1985,ISBN0631
140328
Palmer,A.N.,CaveGeology,2ndPrinting,CaveBooks,2009,ISBN9780
939748662
Sweeting,M.M.,KarstLandforms,Macmillan,1973,ISBN023103623X
vanBeynen,P.(Ed.),Karstmanagement,Springer,2011,ISBN97894007
12065
Vermeulen,J.J.,Whitten,T.,"BiodiversityandCulturalPropertyinthe
ManagementofLimestoneResourcesinEastAsia:LessonsfromEastAsia",
 TheWorldBank,1999,ISBN9780821345085

Externallinks [ edit ]

SpeleogenesisNetwork,a WikimediaCommonshas
communicationplatformforphysical mediarelatedto:
Karst(category)
speleologyandkarstscience
research Wikisourcehasthetextofthe
SpeleogenesisandKarstAquifers a 1911Encyclopdia
BritannicaarticleKarst.
largeglossaryofKarstrelatedterms
ActaCarsologica researchpapersandreviewsinallthefieldsrelatedto
karst
CDKCitizensoftheKarst CitizensoftheKarst,anonprofitNGOdedicated
totheprotectionofthePuertoRicanKarst(Englishsiteavailable)
TheVirtualCave'spageonkarstlandforms

VTE Cavetopicsandlistsbycountry [show]

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Categories: Karst Karstcaves Landforms Cavegeology Geomorphology

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