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Karst and the USGS

Welcome to the USGS Karst Website. This website presents information on USGS research on karst aquifers, which are a vital groundwater resource in the United States. Here you can learn about past and current USGS karst research, with information on ongoing studies, publications, and key contacts for major karst areas. Click on an aquifer on the map below, or select one from a list of aquifers.

Byrds Mill Spring Byrds Mill Spring. USGS Hydrologist Scott Christenson collects a water sample from Oklahoma’s largest spring. (Photo by Noel Osborn, Ok. Water Resources Board) Read more about the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer...
Main Barton Spring, Austin, Texas Main Barton Spring, Austin, Texas. The fourth largest spring in Texas, this is a karst spring that discharges an average of 50 cubic feet per second (about 32 million gallons per day). The spring supplies water to a swimming pool enjoyed by over 300,000 people per year. (Photo by Brad Garner) Read more about the Edwards Balcones Fault Zone aquifer...
Barton Spring Pool, Austin, Texas Barton Spring Pool, Austin, Texas. A public swimming pool visited by over 300,000 people annually. The pool is filled by discharge from Main Barton Spring, and is a centerpiece of political and environmental dialog. (Photo courtesy of the City of Austin) Read more about the Edwards Balcones Fault Zone aquifer...
Streamflow tracer test on a tributary to Hopewell Run near Leetown, WV Streamflow tracer test on a tributary to Hopewell Run near Leetown, WV. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientist Malcolm Field conducts this test. It was conducted to assess potential leakage of stream water to the karst aquifer in the northern Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia. (Photo by Carol Boughton) Read more about karst aquifers of the Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge province...
Karst conduit in a borehole, Cumberland County, PA Karst conduit in a borehole, Cumberland County, PA. A still-frame from a video taken from a camera lowered into a borehole in karst terrane. A conduit appears in this photo as a distinctive void space, which likely transmits large volumes of water through the aquifer rapidly. (Photo by Randy Conger) Read more about karst aquifers of the Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge province...

This website allows you to browse for karst reports and articles authored by USGS researchers, and find links for other karst resources. There is also an overview of karst and its properties.

This website is maintained by members of the USGS Karst Interest Group, whose (KIG), who investigate karst across the United States.

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Page Last Modified: Monday, 30-Jan-2012 16:39:46 EST