Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Karst shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Karst offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Karst at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Karst? Wrong! If the Karst is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Karst then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Karst? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Karst and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Karst wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Karst then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Karst site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Karst, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Karst, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

on the west coast of Ireland

Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the Solvation of a soluble layer or layers of bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. These landscapes display distinctive surface features and underground drainages, and in some examples there may be little or no surface drainage. Some areas of karst topography, such as southern Missouri and northern Arkansas in the USA, are underlain by thousands of caves.

Different terms for karst topography exist in other languages - for example, yanrong in Chinese and tsingy in Malagasy - a notable exception being English (Jennings, Ch.1 p.1). The international community has settled on karst, the German language name for Kras, a region in Slovenia partially extending into Italy where it is called Carso and where the first scientific research of a karst topography was made. The name has Paleoeuropean origin (karra - stone) and in antiquity it was called Carusardius in Latin. The Slovenian form grast is attested since 1177, and the Croatian kras since 1230.

Chemistry of karst landscapes Karst landforms are generally the result of mildly acidic water acting on soluble bedrock such as limestone or dolostone. The carbonic acid that causes these features is formed as rain passes through the Earth's atmosphere picking up carbon dioxide, which dissolves in the water. Once the rain reaches the ground, it may pass through soil that may provide further CO2 to form a weak carbonic acid solution: H2O + CO2 → H2CO3. Recent studies of sulfates in karst waters suggests sulfuric acid and hydrogen sulfide may also play an important role in karst formation.

This mildly acidic water begins to Weathering the surface and any fractures or bedding planes in the limestone bedrock. Over time these fractures enlarge as the bedrock continues to dissolve. Openings in the rock increase in size, and an underground drainage system begins to develop, allowing more water to pass through and accelerating the formation of underground karst features.

Somewhat less common than this limestone karst is gypsum karst, where the solubility of the mineral gypsum provides many similar structures to the dissolution and redeposition of calcium carbonate.

Karst formations The karstification of a landscape may result in a variety of large or small scale features both on the surface and beneath. On exposed surfaces, small features may include flutes, runnels, limestone pavement, collectively called karren or lapiez. Medium-sized surface features may include sinkholes or dolines (closed basins), vertical shafts, disappearing streams, and reappearing spring (hydrosphere)s. Large-scale features may include limestone pavements, poljes and blind valleys. Mature karst landscapes, where more bedrock has been removed than remains, may result in karst towers or haystack/eggbox landscapes. Beneath the surface, complex underground drainage systems (such as karst aquifers) and extensive caves and cavern systems may form.

stalagmite in Carlsbad CavernsErosion along limestone shores, notably in the tropics, produces karst topography that includes a sharp makatea surface above the normal reach of the sea and undercuts that are mostly the result of biological activity or bioerosion at or a little above mean sea level. Some of the most dramatic of these formations can be seen in Thailand's Phangnga Bay and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

Calcium carbonate dissolved into water may precipitate out where the water discharges some of its dissolved carbon dioxide. Rivers which emerge from springs may produce tufa terraces, consisting of layers of calcite deposited over extended periods of time. In caves, a variety of features collectively called speleothems are formed by deposition of calcium carbonate and other dissolved minerals.

A karst river may disappear underground a number of times and spring up again in different places, usually under a different name (like Ljubljanica, the river of seven names).

Water drainage and problems Farming in karst areas must take into account the lack of surface water. The soils may be fertile enough, and rainfall may be adequate, but rainwater quickly moves through the crevices into the ground, sometimes leaving the surface soil parched between rains. , a karst spring.

A karst fenster is where an underground stream emerges onto the surface between layers of rock, cascades some feet, and then disappears back down, often into a sinkhole. There is an example of this in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

Water supplies from water wells in karst topography may be unsafe, as the water may have run unimpeded from a sinkhole in a cattle pasture, through a cave and to the well, bypassing the normal filtering that occurs in a porous aquifer. Karst formations are cavernous and therefore have high rates of permeability, resulting in reduced opportunity for contaminants to be filtered out.

Groundwater in karst areas is just as easily Water pollution as surface streams. Sinkholes have often been used as farmstead or community landfill. Overloaded or malfunctioning septic tanks in karst landscapes may dump raw sewage directly into underground channels.

The karst topography itself also poses some difficuties for human inhabitants. Sinkholes can develop gradually as surface openings enlarge, but quite often progressive erosion is unseen and the roof of an underground cavern suddenly collapses. Such events have swallowed homes, cattle, cars, and farm machinery.

The Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa protects Discus macclintocki, a species of ice age snail surviving in air chilled by flowing over buried karst ice formations.

Pseudokarst Pseudokarst refers to landscape features that are similar in form or appearance to karst features, but are created by different mechanisms. Examples include lava caves and granite tor (geography) (for example Labertouche Cave in Victoria (Australia), Australia), and paleocollapse features.

List of notable karst areas Africa

• Anjajavy Forest, western Madagascar
• Ankarana Reserve, Madagascar
• Madagascar dry deciduous forests, western Madagascar
• Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar

Asia , Vietnam.

• Area around Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
• Zhangjiajie National Forest park, forming part of the Wulingyuan scenic area (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Zhangjiajie Prefecture, Hunan, China.
• The Stone Forest called the South China Karst by UNESCO (Yunnan Province, China)
• Ofra region, Israel.
• Akiyoshi plateau, Japan.
• El Nido, Palawan, The Philippines
• Sagada, Mountain Province, The Philippines
• Bohol, The Philippines
• Negros and Gigante Islands, Negros Oriental, The Philippines
• Vang Vieng, Laos
• Gunung Mulu National Park Malaysia
• Krabi Province, Thailand
• Phangnga Bay Area, Southern Thailand
• Halong Bay, Vietnam
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam

Europe

• The Herzegovina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina
• The regions of Dalmatia (including Zagora (Croatia)), Lika, Gorski kotar, Kvarner and the islands in Croatia
• The Moravian Karst
• The Central Rhodope Mountains karst in Bulgaria (Trigrad Gorge and caves), the Devnya Valley (karst springs)
• The Apuseni Mountains, Romania
• Slovak Paradise, Slovak Karst and Muránska planina, Slovakia
• The region of Inner Carniola in Slovenia
• Kras, a plateau in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy
• Murge, in Apulia and Basilicata, southern Italy
• The Picos de Europa and Basque mountains, northern Spain
• The Ciudad Encantada in the Cuenca province (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain)
• El Torcal de Antequera nature preserve, southern Spain
• The White Peak of the Peak District, UK, around Matlock, Derbyshire, Castleton, and Thor's Cave
• Yorkshire Dales (including Malham Cove), England
• The Burren (Co.Clare, Ireland)
• Assynt, SE Skye and near Kentallen in Scotland
• The limestone region of the Southern Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales
• Hönnetal at Balve, Germany
• The Swabian Alb region in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in southern Germany
• The "Ares de l'Anie, in the southernmost part of Barétous valley, South-West of France

North America Canada

• The Nahanni National Park Reserve region in the Northwest Territories
• Monkman Provincial Park in the Northern Rockies
• Portions of the Niagara Escarpment, Ontario
• Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta and the Northwest Territories

United States

• The Mitchell Plain and Uplands of Southern Indiana
• The Great Appalachian Valley (Huntsville, Alabama to Northeast Pennsylvania)
• The Shenandoah Valley
• The Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois, left unglaciated by all three phases of the Wisconsinian glaciation
• The Florida peninsula
• Mammoth Cave area and Bluegrass region of Kentucky
• The Ozark Plateau of Missouri and Arkansas
• The Kamas Ranch and Alabaster Cavern area of Oklahoma
• The Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee
• The Grassy Cove Karst Area, Tennessee, a registered National Natural Landmark
• The Texas Hill Country of Texas
• Central Pennsylvania
• Presque Isle County near and around Rogers City in northern Michigan
• The campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz
• The Germany Valley, West Virginia, a registered National Natural Landmark
• The Swago Karst Area, West Virginia, a registered National Natural Landmark

Caribbean

• The Karst forest in Puerto Rico
• Limestone eastern foothills of Maya Mountains including parts of the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
• List of national parks of Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic
• Cockpit Country, a region in Geography of Jamaica
• Limestone mountains of northwestern Geography of Puerto Rico
• Mogotes in Viñales Valley, Cuba

Mexico

• The Cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Oceania

• Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, South-west Western Australia (near Margaret River, Australia
• Northern Swan Coastal Plain, Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia
• Naracoorte Caves National Park, South Australia, Australia
• Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, Australia
• Wombeyan Caves, New South Wales, Australia
• Mole Creek Karst Conservation Area, Tasmania, Australia
• Waitomo, Oparara regions of New Zealand
• The Nakanai Mountains, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

See also

• Karst field
• Glaciokarst
• Speleothem
• Speleology
• Foiba
• Limestone pavement
• Jovan Cvijić

References Jennings, J.N. Karst Geomorphology 2nd ed. Blackwell 1985Sweeting, M.M. Karst Landforms Macmillan 1973



External links

• Speleogenesis and Karst Aquifers - a large glossary of Karst related terms.
• Acta Carsologica - research papers and reviews in all the fields related to karst.

on the west coast of Ireland

Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the Solvation of a soluble layer or layers of bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. These landscapes display distinctive surface features and underground drainages, and in some examples there may be little or no surface drainage. Some areas of karst topography, such as southern Missouri and northern Arkansas in the USA, are underlain by thousands of caves.

Different terms for karst topography exist in other languages - for example, yanrong in Chinese and tsingy in Malagasy - a notable exception being English (Jennings, Ch.1 p.1). The international community has settled on karst, the German language name for Kras, a region in Slovenia partially extending into Italy where it is called Carso and where the first scientific research of a karst topography was made. The name has Paleoeuropean origin (karra - stone) and in antiquity it was called Carusardius in Latin. The Slovenian form grast is attested since 1177, and the Croatian kras since 1230.

Chemistry of karst landscapes Karst landforms are generally the result of mildly acidic water acting on soluble bedrock such as limestone or dolostone. The carbonic acid that causes these features is formed as rain passes through the Earth's atmosphere picking up carbon dioxide, which dissolves in the water. Once the rain reaches the ground, it may pass through soil that may provide further CO2 to form a weak carbonic acid solution: H2O + CO2 → H2CO3. Recent studies of sulfates in karst waters suggests sulfuric acid and hydrogen sulfide may also play an important role in karst formation.

This mildly acidic water begins to Weathering the surface and any fractures or bedding planes in the limestone bedrock. Over time these fractures enlarge as the bedrock continues to dissolve. Openings in the rock increase in size, and an underground drainage system begins to develop, allowing more water to pass through and accelerating the formation of underground karst features.

Somewhat less common than this limestone karst is gypsum karst, where the solubility of the mineral gypsum provides many similar structures to the dissolution and redeposition of calcium carbonate.

Karst formations The karstification of a landscape may result in a variety of large or small scale features both on the surface and beneath. On exposed surfaces, small features may include flutes, runnels, limestone pavement, collectively called karren or lapiez. Medium-sized surface features may include sinkholes or dolines (closed basins), vertical shafts, disappearing streams, and reappearing spring (hydrosphere)s. Large-scale features may include limestone pavements, poljes and blind valleys. Mature karst landscapes, where more bedrock has been removed than remains, may result in karst towers or haystack/eggbox landscapes. Beneath the surface, complex underground drainage systems (such as karst aquifers) and extensive caves and cavern systems may form.

stalagmite in Carlsbad CavernsErosion along limestone shores, notably in the tropics, produces karst topography that includes a sharp makatea surface above the normal reach of the sea and undercuts that are mostly the result of biological activity or bioerosion at or a little above mean sea level. Some of the most dramatic of these formations can be seen in Thailand's Phangnga Bay and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

Calcium carbonate dissolved into water may precipitate out where the water discharges some of its dissolved carbon dioxide. Rivers which emerge from springs may produce tufa terraces, consisting of layers of calcite deposited over extended periods of time. In caves, a variety of features collectively called speleothems are formed by deposition of calcium carbonate and other dissolved minerals.

A karst river may disappear underground a number of times and spring up again in different places, usually under a different name (like Ljubljanica, the river of seven names).

Water drainage and problems Farming in karst areas must take into account the lack of surface water. The soils may be fertile enough, and rainfall may be adequate, but rainwater quickly moves through the crevices into the ground, sometimes leaving the surface soil parched between rains. , a karst spring.

A karst fenster is where an underground stream emerges onto the surface between layers of rock, cascades some feet, and then disappears back down, often into a sinkhole. There is an example of this in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

Water supplies from water wells in karst topography may be unsafe, as the water may have run unimpeded from a sinkhole in a cattle pasture, through a cave and to the well, bypassing the normal filtering that occurs in a porous aquifer. Karst formations are cavernous and therefore have high rates of permeability, resulting in reduced opportunity for contaminants to be filtered out.

Groundwater in karst areas is just as easily Water pollution as surface streams. Sinkholes have often been used as farmstead or community landfill. Overloaded or malfunctioning septic tanks in karst landscapes may dump raw sewage directly into underground channels.

The karst topography itself also poses some difficuties for human inhabitants. Sinkholes can develop gradually as surface openings enlarge, but quite often progressive erosion is unseen and the roof of an underground cavern suddenly collapses. Such events have swallowed homes, cattle, cars, and farm machinery.

The Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa protects Discus macclintocki, a species of ice age snail surviving in air chilled by flowing over buried karst ice formations.

Pseudokarst Pseudokarst refers to landscape features that are similar in form or appearance to karst features, but are created by different mechanisms. Examples include lava caves and granite tor (geography) (for example Labertouche Cave in Victoria (Australia), Australia), and paleocollapse features.

List of notable karst areas Africa

• Anjajavy Forest, western Madagascar
• Ankarana Reserve, Madagascar
• Madagascar dry deciduous forests, western Madagascar
• Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar

Asia , Vietnam.

• Area around Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
• Zhangjiajie National Forest park, forming part of the Wulingyuan scenic area (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Zhangjiajie Prefecture, Hunan, China.
• The Stone Forest called the South China Karst by UNESCO (Yunnan Province, China)
• Ofra region, Israel.
• Akiyoshi plateau, Japan.
• El Nido, Palawan, The Philippines
• Sagada, Mountain Province, The Philippines
• Bohol, The Philippines
• Negros and Gigante Islands, Negros Oriental, The Philippines
• Vang Vieng, Laos
• Gunung Mulu National Park Malaysia
• Krabi Province, Thailand
• Phangnga Bay Area, Southern Thailand
• Halong Bay, Vietnam
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam

Europe

• The Herzegovina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina
• The regions of Dalmatia (including Zagora (Croatia)), Lika, Gorski kotar, Kvarner and the islands in Croatia
• The Moravian Karst
• The Central Rhodope Mountains karst in Bulgaria (Trigrad Gorge and caves), the Devnya Valley (karst springs)
• The Apuseni Mountains, Romania
• Slovak Paradise, Slovak Karst and Muránska planina, Slovakia
• The region of Inner Carniola in Slovenia
• Kras, a plateau in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy
• Murge, in Apulia and Basilicata, southern Italy
• The Picos de Europa and Basque mountains, northern Spain
• The Ciudad Encantada in the Cuenca province (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain)
• El Torcal de Antequera nature preserve, southern Spain
• The White Peak of the Peak District, UK, around Matlock, Derbyshire, Castleton, and Thor's Cave
• Yorkshire Dales (including Malham Cove), England
• The Burren (Co.Clare, Ireland)
• Assynt, SE Skye and near Kentallen in Scotland
• The limestone region of the Southern Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales
• Hönnetal at Balve, Germany
• The Swabian Alb region in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in southern Germany
• The "Ares de l'Anie, in the southernmost part of Barétous valley, South-West of France

North America Canada

• The Nahanni National Park Reserve region in the Northwest Territories
• Monkman Provincial Park in the Northern Rockies
• Portions of the Niagara Escarpment, Ontario
• Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta and the Northwest Territories

United States

• The Mitchell Plain and Uplands of Southern Indiana
• The Great Appalachian Valley (Huntsville, Alabama to Northeast Pennsylvania)
• The Shenandoah Valley
• The Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois, left unglaciated by all three phases of the Wisconsinian glaciation
• The Florida peninsula
• Mammoth Cave area and Bluegrass region of Kentucky
• The Ozark Plateau of Missouri and Arkansas
• The Kamas Ranch and Alabaster Cavern area of Oklahoma
• The Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee
• The Grassy Cove Karst Area, Tennessee, a registered National Natural Landmark
• The Texas Hill Country of Texas
• Central Pennsylvania
• Presque Isle County near and around Rogers City in northern Michigan
• The campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz
• The Germany Valley, West Virginia, a registered National Natural Landmark
• The Swago Karst Area, West Virginia, a registered National Natural Landmark

Caribbean

• The Karst forest in Puerto Rico
• Limestone eastern foothills of Maya Mountains including parts of the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
• List of national parks of Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic
• Cockpit Country, a region in Geography of Jamaica
• Limestone mountains of northwestern Geography of Puerto Rico
• Mogotes in Viñales Valley, Cuba

Mexico

• The Cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Oceania

• Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, South-west Western Australia (near Margaret River, Australia
• Northern Swan Coastal Plain, Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia
• Naracoorte Caves National Park, South Australia, Australia
• Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, Australia
• Wombeyan Caves, New South Wales, Australia
• Mole Creek Karst Conservation Area, Tasmania, Australia
• Waitomo, Oparara regions of New Zealand
• The Nakanai Mountains, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

See also

• Karst field
• Glaciokarst
• Speleothem
• Speleology
• Foiba
• Limestone pavement
• Jovan Cvijić

References Jennings, J.N. Karst Geomorphology 2nd ed. Blackwell 1985Sweeting, M.M. Karst Landforms Macmillan 1973



External links

• Speleogenesis and Karst Aquifers - a large glossary of Karst related terms.
• Acta Carsologica - research papers and reviews in all the fields related to karst.

Karst topography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite.

Caves & Karst Imagery
Seling cave and karst images from the Yorkshire Dales.

Welcome to Karst Dynamics Laboratory!
Institute based in Guilin, China undertaking research that includes the development of karst water resources, the carbon cycle in karst and geological hazards.

www.karst.co.uk
Karst Media

KARST HYDROLOGY (A valuable handbook on karst)
A guide to cavern development and related environmental issues.

Cave & Karst Science
Peer-reviewed journal of research on geology and biology of caves and karst, published three times a year by the British Cave Research Association. Includes tables of contents and ...

The Karst region in Slovenia
Slovenia holidays in Medljan Tourist Farm, just four kilometres from the seaside town of Izola, where you can swim in the sea, eat at nice restaurants, buy fresh fish from the ...

Karst definition of Karst in the Free Online Encyclopedia.
Karst (kärst), Ital. Carso, Slovenian Kras, limestone plateau, W Slovenia, N of Istria and extending c.50 mi (80 km) SE from the lower Isonzo (Soča) valley between the Bay of ...

Cerberus Spelaeological Society
We are registered charity concerned with the conservation of caves and their environment ... click here) Links: General Interest | Members | Cave & Mine Sites; National Cave, Karst ...

What is Karst ?
Karst, a Complex Landscape Sculpted by Water . What is Karst ? Karst is a distinctive topography in which the landscape is largely shaped by the dissolving action of water on ...