List of karst areas

Last updated

Karst topography is a geological formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but also in gypsum. [1] It has also been documented for weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions. [2] This is an incomplete list of the major karst landscape areas of the world.

Contents

Africa

Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar Tsingy de Bemaraha.jpg
Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar

Madagascar

South Africa

Asia

Phong Nha Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam Phongnhacave.jpg
Phong Nha Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam

China

Georgia

India

Yana Caves -Karnatka (Uttar Kanada District)

Indonesia

Karst landscape at Rammang-Rammang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia Obyek wisata Rammang-Rammang.jpg
Karst landscape at Rammang-Rammang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Israel and Palestine

Japan

Laos

Lebanon

Dunnieh mountains, North Lebanon Karst and Cedars.JPG
Dunnieh mountains, North Lebanon

Malaysia

Myanmar

Palestine

Philippines

South Korea

Thailand

Taiwan

Turkey

Vietnam

Karsts in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Halong ensemble (colour corrected).jpg
Karsts in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Europe

Albania

Austria

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vrelo Bune, one of the largest wellsprings in the world by any measure Bosnia and Herzegovina Apr-28-2012 006 (7156010742).jpg
Vrelo Bune, one of the largest wellsprings in the world by any measure

Karst poljes (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian : kraška polja)

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Estonia

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Malta

Montenegro

Poland

Portugal

"Mira d'Aire"'s Karst Lake, Portugal Polje inundado 02.jpg
"Mira d'Aire"'s Karst Lake, Portugal
"Mira d'Aire"'s Karst cave system, Portugal Grutas de Mira Daire4.jpg
"Mira d'Aire"'s Karst cave system, Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Skocjan Caves, Slovenia Burger SJ Ponvice 01.jpg
Škocjan Caves, Slovenia

Spain

El Torcal (Antequera - Spain) Torcal1.jpg
El Torcal (Antequera – Spain)

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

North America

Canada

Mexico

United States

Alaska

Arizona

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky Mammoth Cave National Park 008.jpg
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Kentucky

Michigan

Missouri, Arkansas

Nevada

New Mexico

Oklahoma

Oregon

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

West Virginia

Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois

Central America and Caribbean

Belize

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Jamaica

Puerto Rico

South America

Brazil

Chile

Venezuela

Oceania

Australia

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karst</span> Topography from dissolved soluble rocks

Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. More weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, can also occur, given the right conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinkhole</span> Geologically-formed topological depression

A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water enters into underground passages known as ponor, swallow hole or swallet. A cenote is a type of sinkhole that exposes groundwater underneath. Sink and stream sink are more general terms for sites that drain surface water, possibly by infiltration into sediment or crumbled rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinaric Alps</span> Mountain range in the Balkan Peninsula of Southeastern Europe

The Dinaric Alps, also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo to Albania in the southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paparoa National Park</span> National park in New Zealand

Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Montenegro</span> Overview of the geography of Montenegro

Montenegro is a small, mountainous country in Southeast Europe. It borders Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and the Adriatic Sea. While being a small country at 13,812 km2 (5,333 sq mi), it is very diverse regarding the terrain configuration. Montenegro has 50 peaks of over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in altitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orjen</span> Mountain range in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro

Orjen is a transboundary Dinaric Mediterranean limestone mountain range, located between southernmost Bosnia and Herzegovina and southwestern Montenegro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaciokarst</span>

Glaciokarst is a geological term that refers to a specific type of karst landscape that been influenced significantly by past glacial activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livanjsko Polje</span> Large flat plain in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Livanjsko polje, located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the largest polje in the world. A typical example of karst polje encircled by tall peaks and mountain ranges, the field is characterized by many unique natural phenomenons and karstic features.

The Trebišnjica is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the right tributary of the Neretva. Before it was utilized for hydro exploitation via various hydrotechnical interventions and systems with different purposes, Trebišnjica used to be a sinking river, rising and sinking through its course before resurfacing at various places from the Neretva river below the Čapljina to the Adriatic coast, and along the coast from the Neretva Delta to Sutorina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blidinje plateau</span> Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Blidinje plateau is a karst plateau in Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated at the heart of Dinaric Alps, between major mountains of the range, Čvrsnica, Čabulja and Vran, with characteristic karstic features such as Dugo Polje field, Blidinje Lake, Grabovica and Drežanka valleys, and others. It represents important natural, hydrogeological reservation in karst of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with significant cultural and historical heritage, and Dinarides in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponor</span>

A ponor is a natural opening where surface water enters into underground passages; they may be found in karst landscapes where the geology and the geomorphology is typically dominated by porous limestone rock. Ponors can drain stream or lake water continuously or can at times work as springs, similar to estavelles. Morphologically, ponors come in forms of large pits and caves, large fissures and caverns, networks of smaller cracks, and sedimentary, alluvial drains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grassy Cove</span> Geographical region in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States

Grassy Cove is an enclosed valley in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The valley is notable for its karst formations, which have been designated a National Natural Landmark. Grassy Cove is also home to a small unincorporated community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fengshan County</span> County in Guangxi, China

Fengshan County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Hechi City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uvala (landform)</span> Toponym for a closed karst depression

Uvala is originally a local toponym used by people in some regions in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. In geosciences it denotes a closed karst depression, a terrain form usually of elongated or compound structure and of larger size than that of sinkholes. It is a morphological form frequently found in the outer Dinaric Alps anywhere between Slovenia and Greece, but large closed karst depressions are found on all continents in different landscapes and therefore uvala has become a globally established term. It is also used to distinguish such depressions from poljes, which are many square kilometres in size. Definitions of uvalas are often poorly empirically supported. "The coalescence of dolines" (sinkholes) is the dominant and most frequently found definition. However, because of the ongoing dissatisfaction with this definition, the term 'uvala' has often been belittled – occasionally it was even proposed that the term be given up altogether.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karst lake</span> Lakes formed as a result of the collapse of caves

Karst lakes are formed as the result of a collapse of caves, especially in water-soluble rocks such as limestone, gypsum and dolomite. This process is known as karstification. They can cover areas of several hundred square kilometres. Their shallow lakebed is usually an insoluble layer of sediment so that water is impounded, leading to the formation of lakes. Many karst lakes only exist periodically, but return regularly after heavy rainfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zalomka</span> River in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Zalomka is a karstic river in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as part of the Neretva river system it is one of the largest sinking rivers in the country and Dinarides. It rises under the Morine plateau, near Brajićevići village in Gacko municipality, but also collects its upper course waters from Gatačko Polje.

Vilina Pećina is a cave and a karst resurgence wellspring in Dinaric Alps karst of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also previously known from research descriptions of older date as "Vilić Pećina", such as one from 1896, conducted by Austria-Hungary geologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Croatia</span> Overview of the geology of Croatia

The geology of Croatia has some Precambrian rocks mostly covered by younger sedimentary rocks and deformed or superimposed by tectonic activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Karst</span> Limestone karst landscape located in the northern part of Puerto Rico

The Northern Karst is a limestone karst landscape located in the northern part of Puerto Rico. A karst is a topographical zone formed by the dissolution of soluble porous rocks, such as limestone, with features such as mogotes, canyons, caves, sinkholes, streams and rivers, all of which are common on this region of the island. Some of the island's main rivers, including its longest, traverse the karst and form some of the most distinctive Puerto Rican geographical features such as the Camuy caverns. Many of these rivers feed into and are important in the formation of many marshy areas such as the Caño Tiburones wetlands.

References

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  2. Geomorphological Landscapes of the World.
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  4. "Wisata Gua Salukangkallang yang Menantang". Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  5. "Stalactite Cave Nature Reserve". Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  6. Gerson, Ran (February 1974). "Karst processes of the eastern upper Galilee, Northern Israel". Journal of Hydrology. 21 (2): 131–152. Bibcode:1974JHyd...21..131G. doi:10.1016/0022-1694(74)90033-X.
  7. Joerg Dreybrodt and Helmut Steiner, 'Karst and caves of the Shan plateau in Myanmar', November 2015.
  8. Marie Starr, 'Exploring Myanmar's vast network of limestone caves', Frontier, 13 April 2018.
  9. Castleton, Karst hydrology By Christian Leibundgut, John Gunn, Alain Dassargues, International Association of Hydrological Sciences, 1998, ISBN   1-901502-40-6, accessed June 2009.
  10. Mendip – Longest caves. Ukcaves.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-06-08.
  11. Northern Dales – Longest caves. Ukcaves.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-06-08.
  12. Forest Of Dean – Longest caves. Ukcaves.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-06-08.
  13. Assynt – Longest caves. Ukcaves.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-06-08.
  14. South Wales – Longest caves. Ukcaves.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-06-08.
  15. "Cave Stream Scenic Reserve". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 24 April 2014.