Why do the Guadalupe Mountains have extensive caves but few surface karst features?

The Guadalupe Mountains are a notable example of a karst region that features extensive underground cave systems while exhibiting very few surface karst features.1

This phenomenon occurs because karst landscapes are formed by the removal of bedrock through underground solution routes rather than surface weathering or surface streams. While many karst areas are characterized by surface expressions like sinkholes and deranged drainage, there is significant variation among such regions. In the case of the Guadalupe Mountains, the development of massive underground chambers—such as those found in Carlsbad Caverns National Park—was driven by deep-seated processes, including dissolution by sulfuric acid, rather than relying solely on the surface-to-subsurface drainage typical of more common karst terrains. Consequently, the mountains contain a vast, complex network of subterranean passages that lack the prominent surface markers often associated with karst topography.123