Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.2—Cont'd
Form
Comment
Bare limestone forms (concentrated surface runoff)
Microfissures
Small fissures, up to several centimetres long but no more than 1 cm deep,
that follow small joints
Splitkarren
Solution fissures, centimetres to a few metres long and centimetres deep,
that follow joints, stylolites, or veins. Taper with depth unless occupied by
channel flow. May be transitional to pits, karren shafts, or grikes
Grikes (
Kluftkarren
)
Major solution fissures following joints or fault lines. The largest forms
include
bogaz
, corridors, and streets
Clints (
Flackkarren
)
Tabular blocks between grikes
Solution spikes (
Spitzkarren
)
Sharp projections between grikes
Partly covered forms
Solution pits
Round-bottomed or tapered forms. Occur under soil and on bare rock
Solution pans
Dish-shaped depressions formed on flat or nearly flat limestone, with sides
that may overhang and carry solution flutes. The bottom of the pans may
have a cover of organic remains, silt, clay, or rock debris
Undercut solution runnels (
Hohlkarren
)
Similar to runnels but become larger with depth resulting from damp
conditions near the base associated with humus or soil accumulations
Solution notches (
Korrosionkehlen
)
Inward-curved recesses etched by soil abutting rock
Covered forms
Rounded solution runnels (
Rundkarren
)
Runnels formed under an 'acidulated' soil or sediment cover that smooths
out the features
Cutters
An American term for soil-covered grikes that are widened at the top and
taper with depth. Intervening clints are called subsoil pinnacles
Solution pipes, shafts, or wells
Cylindrical or conical holes developed along joint planes that connect to
proto-caves or small caves. Shaft-like forms weathered below a deep and
periodically saturated soil cover contain small caverns and are known as
'bone yard' forms. These are popularly used in ornamental rockeries
Polygenetic forms - assemblages of karren
Karren fields (
Karrenfeld
)
Exposed tracts of karren that may cover up to several square kilometres
Limestone pavement
A type of karren field characterized by regular clints and grikes. They are
called stepped pavements (
Schichttreppenkarst
) when benched
Pinnacle karst and stone forest
Topography with pinnacles, sometimes exposed by soil erosion, formed on
karst rocks. Pinnacles may stand up to 45 m tall and 20 m wide at the
base
Ruiniform karst
Karst with wide grikes and degrading clints exposed by soil erosion.
Transitional to tors
Corridor karst or labyrinth karst or
giant grikeland
Large-scale clint-and-grike terrains with grikes several metres or more wide
and up to 1 km long
Coastal karren
A distinctive solutional topography on limestone or dolomite found around
coasts and lakes
Source:
After discussion in Jennings (1971, 1985) and Ford and Williams (1989, 376-7)
