KARST
This is a basic intro to Karst topography. There are many sorts of Karst. The name itself comes from the Karst region of Slovenia, along the Adriatic coast, where the landform was first noted. Karst is any terrain based on a layer of soluble bedrock, usually, though not always, of carbonate rocks. In the American Midwest, karst forms on limestones (calcium carbonate) and dolomites (magnesium calcium carbonate.)
The precise erosional forms which the karst takes depends on many variables. The mechanical structure and chemical composition of the rock, the local climate and temperature range, and the amount of vegetation and rainfall a region has all determine how fast a carbonate landscape erodes. Karst along a seaside is quite different than that inland, and tropical karst does not resemble karst in temperate or sub-Arctic zones. Landforms in zones with earthquake activity are quite different than that in quiet zones, or places where mountain-building have turned the layers of carbonate rock on edge. Some karst is formed as a result of sulfuric acid welling up from below instead of carbonic acid percolating down from above.
http://www.umsl.edu/~joellaws/ozark_caving/mss/karst.htm
http://home.mira.net/~gnb/caving/papers/jj-cakt.html
http://wasg.iinet.net.au/terminol.html
CAVE AND KARST TERMINOLOGY
http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/nebel2/medialib/update13.html
Environmental Problems in Karst Lands
http://www.esri.com/industries/cavekarst/
Geography Matters for Cave and Karst Management and Research
http://www.karstwaters.org/geobibl.htm
Karst Geomorphology and Hydrogeology, Principal References
http://www.dyetracing.com/karst/ka01000.html
The Karst Pages
http://www.karstwaters.org/
The Karst Waters Institute
http://www.karst-hydrogeology.de/
KARST WEB PAGES
http://members.aol.com/caveconser/ccvup.htm
A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR LANDOWNERS IN LIMESTONE REGIONS
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa060800a.htm
Sinkholes and Karst Topography
http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~sgp/spec/linkk.html
Karst Links Page
