KARST

GEOMORPHOLOG
Y
Work of Underground Water
  The water present in the pore spaces of regolith 1 and bedrocks2 below
the ground surface is called groundwater.
 The main source of groundwater is rainwater and snowmelt water. This
water infiltrates downward through the pore spaces of rocks and collect
Ground in large quantity in aquifers of varying sizes and locations.

Water:  Aquifers refer to the storage pools of groundwater lying below the
ground surface.
Meaning and  The groundwater is also called subsurface water or underground

Components water.
 The percolating water fills the pore spaces of regoliths and permeable
rocks. This process is known as saturation of regoliths and rocks.
1.Regolith- The layer of loose and unconsolidated materials lying over the
bedrocks.
2.Bedrocks- The rocks which have not been weathered or eroded.
 When almost all pore spaces are filled with water, the zone is called saturated or
phreatic zone. The upper level of the saturated zone is called groundwater table or
simply water table.
 The zone lying above the water table is unsaturated and is called unsaturated zone
or vadose zone or aeration zone. Because the pore spaces of regoliths and
permeable rocks are partly filled with water and partly with air.
 The impermeable bed separating two aquifers is called aquiclude.When an aquifer
is zagged between two aquicludes there is produced a confined water reservoir
which gives birth to artesian wells.
 When an aquiclude lies between two aquifers, the water table of upper aquifer is
called perched water table.
  The geological or geomorphic work of groundwater includes chemical
erosion of soluble rocks at the surface by surface water and below the
surface by percolating and moving groundwater.

a) Erosional Work
Geomorphic  It is performed through the mechanism of corrosion or solution,
Work of corrasion or abrasion, attrition and hydraulic action.

Groundwater  But last three types of erosion are not effective because of
exceedingly slow movement of groundwater. Corrosion or chemical
erosion is the only effective method of denudation of carbonate rocks
such as limestone, dolomite, chalk etc. by groundwater.

 Rainwater mixed with atmospheric CO2 becomes active solvent agent

and disintegrates and dissolves carbonate rocks to form numerous
types of solutional landforms.
b) Depositional Work
 As the chemical erosion or dissolution of carbonate rocks
continues, the groundwater or solvent receives more and more
solutes and becomes saturated with sediments.
 Since the movement of groundwater is exceedingly slow it
cannot transport enough materials. Thus, chemical erosion and
deposition go together.
 Larger sediments immediately settle down whereas suspended
fine materials kept in solution form are deposited.
 Deposition of sediments takes place at various places in various
forms e.g. (i) at the floor of caves, (ii) along the ceiling of caves,
(iii) in the rock joints etc.
  Landforms produced by chemical weathering or erosion of
carbonate rocks mainly CaCO3 (limestones) and MgCO3
(dolomites) by surface and subsurface water are called karst
Karst topography.

Topography  It refers to characteristic landforms produced by chemical

or Limestone erosion of crystalline jointed limestones of the Karst region of

erstwhile Yugoslavia (Balkans) adjacent to Adriatic Sea.
Topography  The limestone topography all over the world having
characteristic features similar to the Karst region of former
Yugoslavia is universally called karst topography.
 1. The limestones must be massive, thickly bedded, hard, well cemented and
well jointed.

2. The limestones should not be porous so that water will infiltrate through
joints resulting into effective corrosion of limestones.

Essential conditions 3. The position of limestones should be above the water table so that surface
for the development of drainage may disappear through sinks, blind valleys and sinking creeks and
give birth to cave, passages and galleries.
Karst Topography
4. The limestones should be distributed in both areal and vertical dimensions.
5. The carbonate rocks should be very close to ground surface so that rainwater
may easily and quickly infiltrate through the rockbeds.

6. The limestones should be highly folded, or fractured or faulted.

7. There should be sufficient amount of rainfall.
 EROSIONAL LANDFORMS
1. Sink holes 6. Caves or caverns 11. Ponores
2. Swallow holes 7. Valleys 12. Natural bridge
3. Dolines 8. Karst window 13. Limestone pavement
4. Uvalas 9. Karst lake
5. Poljes 10. Lapies

LANDFORMS
DEPOSITIONAL LANDFORMS
1. Stalactites 5. Terra-rosa
2. Stalagmites 6. Travertines
3. Pillars 7. Tufa
4. Curtains
 Solution Holes and Associated Features
 Rainwater dissolves limestones and other carbonate rocks along their joints
and thus numerous types of solution holes are developed.
 Smaller holes are called sink holes which are generally two types viz. (1)
funnel shaped sink holes and (2) cylindrical sink holes. Its average depth
remains between 3 to 10 m and area varies from a few square metres to a

EROSIONAL few acres.

 The continuous dissolution of limestones results in the coalescence of
LANDFORMS closely spaced sink holes into a large hole which is called swallow hole.
 Some swallow holes are further enlarged due to continuous solution into
large depressions and are called dolines in the karst region and dolinas in
Serbia. (Diameter - a few metres to 1000 metres , depth- a few metres to
300 metres).
 Most extensive depressions larger than dolines are called poljes. They are
characterized by vertical side walls, flat alluvial floors, independent surface
drainage system on their floors, irregular borders and central lake.
 Swallow hole

Sink hole
 Uvala

Doline
• The solution holes enlarged due to collapse of some portion of upper surface because of formation
of cavities below the ground surface are called collapse sinks.
• A feature almost similar to doline in appearance but with shallow depth and larger areal extent is
called solution pan.
• Sometimes the floor of dolines is plugged due to deposition of clay, so water cannot percolate
downward and thus doline is filled with water. Such dolines filled with water are called karst
lakes.
• Rockwalled steep depressions caused by the collapse of ground surface are called cockpits.
• Due to the collapse of upper surface of sink holes or dolines karst window is formed. These
windows enable the investigator to observe the subsurface drainage and the other features formed
below the surface.
• Extensive depressions in karst region are called uvalas. They are formed in a number of ways e. g.
(1) due to the coalescence of several sink holes or dolines due to continuous solution, (2) due to
coalescence of upper roof of large cavities formed underground.
• Uvalas are called as compound sinks because of coalescence of several sink holes. The sides of
uvalas are very steep. They are generally dry depressions.
Karst Window
Valleys of Karst Region
 The upper surface of limestones having horizontal or slightly
inclined beds is called karst plain, on which surface drainage
system develop various types of valleys and typical
landforms.
 Almost all of the valleys are related to sink holes or swallow
holes.
The following are the important types of valleys:
(1) Sinking Creek
(2) Blind valley
(3) Karst Valley
Sinking Creek
 The surface of the karst plain looks like a sieve because of
closely spaced numerous sink holes.
 These sink holes act as funnels because surface water
disappears to go underground through these holes.
 When surface water disappears through numerous sink holes
located in a line, the resultant feature is called sinking creek.
The point through which water goes downward is called
sink.
Sinking Creek
Blind Valley
 It is the valley of the surface stream which disappears in
limestone formation through a swallow hole or sink hole.
 In other words, that valley is called blind valley the flow of
which terminates at a swallow hole and it is a dry valley.

Karst Valley
 Wide U-shaped valleys developed by surface streams on
limestone formation are called solution valleys or karst
valleys
 These valleys are always temporary because generally water
disappears through swallow or sink holes and the valley
become dry.
Blind Valley
Blind Valley
Karst Valley
Karst Valley
Caves or Caverns
 Caves are voids of large dimension below the ground
surface.
 They are the most significant landforms produced by
erosional work of groundwater in limestone lithology.
 Caves vary in sizes and shape ranging from smaller size
to larger caves. Large caves are formed in the regions of
pure, massive and thickly bedded limestones.
 Bora caves of Vishakhapatnam in Andhrapradesh is an
example of limestone cave.
 Caves and caverns are commonly confused with each other and
the two words are often used interchangeably.But there are certain
differences between them.
 A cave is a cavern if it is quite large and is underground.All
caverns are also caves, the converse is not true.

Difference  Cave is just one cave or just one opening; however, the word

between cave cavern implies that there are a series or a system of caves or
cave chambers.
and cavern  Caves can be straight, upward or downwards; caverns, in
contrast, tend to be extremely steep towards the ground instead
of being upwards.
 Caverns have the ability to form speleothems. In other words
cavern is a special type of cave that produces speleothems.
Cave
Ponores
 The vertical pipe like chasms or passages that connect the
caves and swallow holes are called ponores.
 They are formed due to downward extension of sink holes
through continuous solution of carbonate rocks. Ponores
may also be inclined.

Natural Bridge
 Natural bridges are formed in two ways viz. (1) due to
collapse of the roofs of caves and, (2) due to disappearance
of surface streams as subterranean streams, formation of
valleys below the ground surface and reappearance of
disappeared stream on the ground surface.
 Natural Bridge

Ponor
Lapies
 The highly corrugated and rough surface of limestone lithology characterized by
low ridges and pinnacles, narrow clefts and numerous solution holes is called lapies
(a French term).
 Lapies represent a fretted and fluted topography marked by small rills and gullies,
minor ridges or pinnacles and deep clefts. Lapies are variously named in different
parts o f the world e.g. clints or grykes in North England, karren in Germany,
bogaz in erstwhile Yugoslavia etc.
 Lapies are generally formed due to corrosion of limestones along their joints when
limestones are well exposed at the ground surface.

Limestone Pavement
 The lapies field may eventually turn into somewhat smooth limestone pavements.
 A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of
exposed limestone that resembles an artificial pavement.
 The term is mainly used in the UK where many of these landforms have developed
distinctive surface patterning resembling paving blocks.
Lapies
Limestone Pavement
  All types of deposits in the caverns are collectively called
speleothems of which calcite is the common constituent.
 Banded calcareous deposits are called travertines, whereas the
calcareous depososits softer than travertine, at the mouth of the
caves are called tufa or calc-tufa
Depositional  The calcareous deposits from dripping of water in dry caves are
Landforms called dripstones.
 Numerous needle-shaped dripstones hanging from the cave
ceiling are called drapes or curtains.
Travertine
Tufa
Curtain
Stalactites and Stalagmites
 The water containing limestone in solution, seeps through the roof in
the form of a continuous chain of drops.
 A portion of roof hangs on the roof and on evaporation of water, a
small deposit of limestone is left behind contributing to the formation
of a stalactite, growing downwards from the roof.
 The remaining portion of the drop falls to the floor. This also
evaporates, leaving behind a small deposit of limestone aiding the
formation of a stalagmite, thicker and flatter, rising upwards from
the floor.
 On other words, the columns of dripstones hanging from the cave
ceiling are called stalactites and columns of dripstones growing
upward from the cave floor are called stalagmites
 Sometimes stalactites and stalagmites join together to form cave
pillars also known as columns.
Stalactites and Stalagmites
 The dripstones growing sideward from stalactites are called
helictites and from stalagmites are called heligmites.
 The helictites of globular structure are called globulites. Floor
deposits caused by seepage water and water flowing out of
stalagmites are called flowstones.
 When a group of stalagmites is formed together from closely
spaced centres the resultant stalagmites are called compound
stalagmites.
 The weathering residues left at the surface are called terra-
rosa which means red residual soils or red earth.
 Heligmites

Helictites
 Terra-rosa

Flowstone
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