Groundwater - The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution - page 335

Geo-inSight

The Burren Area of Ireland

The Burren region in northwest County Clare, Ireland,
covers more than 260 square kilometers and is one of the
finest examples of karst topography in Europe. Although
the Burren landscape is frequently referred to as lunar-like
because it is seemingly barren and lifeless, it is actually

teeming with life and is world-famous for its variety
of vegetation. Because of the heat-retention capacity
of the massive limestones and soil trapped in the
vertical joints of bare limestone pavement, and
extremely diverse community of plants abounds.

2. The present landcape is best described as glaciated karst. Like
most of Ireland, the Burren was covered by a warm, shallow sea
some 340 million years ago. As much as 780 m of interbedded
marine limestones and shales were deposited at this time. These
rocks were then covered by nearly 330 m of sandstones, slitstones,
and shales. During the Pleistocene Epoch, glaciers stripped off
most of the detrital rocks, thus exposing the underlying limestones
to weathering
and the humic
acids produced
by localized
vegetation.
Together, they
have been
the driving force
producing the
distinctive karst
topography
we find today.

Kinvara

Ballyvaughan

BURREN UPLANDS

Lisdoonva rna Carran

Kilfenora

Ennistymon

Co rofin

1. A map of Ireland showing the
Burren region of County Clare.

3. Bare limestone pavement with a
small wedge tomb from the Neolithic
period—approximately 6000 years
ago—in the background.

5. A close-up shows the
characteristic karren
weathering pattern
produced by solution of the
limestone. Karren is used
to describe the various
microsolutional features of
limestone pavement.

4. Bare limestone pavements typically
display a blocky appearance. The
network of vertical cracks is the result
of weathering of the joint pattern produced
in the limestone during uplift of the region.

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