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How do limestone landscapes develop karst features such as caves and solutional landforms?
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continental landform
Davis's proposed landscape-development states. The morphology shown is not actually time-indicative. For example, A could be a gully system in soft sediment or a canyon such as the Royal Gorge in Colorado, which is millions of years old. The ridge-ravine topography of B would normally develop under humid conditions, but the river meandering on alluvium indicates a prior or extraneous non-humid aggrading mechanism. The riverine plain of C implies a complex history of planation and aggradation in a current fluvial mode.
Limestone landscapes develop karst features through the chemical dissolution of limestone (calcium carbonate) by slightly acidic groundwater. This process, known as solution, occurs as rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide to form weak carbonic acid, which then percolates through fractures, joints, and bedding planes in the bedrock.123
Development of Features
- Caves: As water flows through bedrock fractures, it gradually enlarges them. Once these openings reach a threshold size (typically 5–10 mm), flow velocities increase, turbulence develops, and the dissolution rate accelerates, eventually forming extensive solution cave systems.24
- Sinkholes: These depressions form when underground voids become large enough that the overlying rock or soil collapses, or through the gradual subsidence of surface material into widening bedrock fissures.13
- Surface Landforms: The removal of bedrock via internal drainage leads to a characteristic landscape often devoid of surface streams, featuring jagged bedrock ledges, lapiés, and natural bridges.51
This internal drainage system effectively integrates the landscape, as surface water is diverted underground to form conduits, which may later emerge as large springs.51