Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun geology A type of land formation, usually with many caves formed through the dissolving of limestone by underground drainage.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[German, after the Karst, a limestone plateau near Trieste (where geologists first studied karstic landscapes) .]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Karst, a region of modern-day Slovenia typified by such landscape; from German Karst, from Slovene Kras.

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Examples

  • The base, nested in karst on the southern edge of the Plain of Jars, was the headquarters for the CIA-funded Meo army commanded by General Vang Pao.

    Riess, Charles F. 1990

  • The base, nested in karst on the southern edge of the Plain of Jars, was the headquarters for the CIA-funded Meo army commanded by General Vang Pao.

    Jackson, Paul V. III "Skip" 1990

  • The term "karst" -- a limestone region of underground rivers, gorges, and caves -- originated in Slovenia's Karst plateau between Ljubljana and the Italian border.

    unknown title 2009

  • The term "karst" -- a limestone region of underground rivers, gorges, and caves -- originated in Slovenia's Karst plateau between Ljubljana and the Italian border.

    unknown title 2009

  • The term "karst" -- a limestone region of underground rivers, gorges, and caves -- originated in Slovenia's Karst plateau between Ljubljana and the Italian border.

    unknown title 2009

  • The term "karst" -- a limestone region of underground rivers, gorges, and caves -- originated in Slovenia's Karst plateau between Ljubljana and the Italian border.

    unknown title 2009

  • It is a classic example of contact karst between the limestone and impermeable rock and is the type location for the landforms and terms karst and doline (swallowhole).

    Skocjan Caves Regional Park, Slovenia 2008

  • The dissolving rock below the ground had a profound effect on the land above it, and the landscape, called karst, displayed unusual and distinctive features.

    The Plains of Passage Auel, Jean M. 1990

  • On a 3-2 vote, the Wisconsin State Senate Environment Committee has passed SB 632 which seeks to protect drinking water in the so-called karst areas of the Badger State.

    Brownfield Bob Meyer 2010

  • Critics say the bill threatens some of the most ecologically unique areas of the Tongass forest, namely karst limestone habitat, as well as two subspecies: the Queen Charlotte goshawk and the Alexander Archipelago wolf.

    Mongabay.com News 2010

Comments

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  • Named after the Karst (Kras) region in Slovenia. The adjectival form is karstic.

    January 2, 2008

  • See note on oxbow lake.

    September 25, 2008

  • See burren.

    December 8, 2008

  • NOUN:

    An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.

    August 20, 2009