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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 ground-water resource in the United States. Here you can learn about past and current USGS karst research, with information on ongoing studies, real-time data, publications, and key contacts for major karst areas. Click on an aquifer on the map below, or select one from a list of aquifers.

Buffalo Spring. Located in Chickasaw National Recreation Area. (Photo by Scott Christenson) Read more about the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer...
Underground stream in Mammoth Cave Nat. Park. USGS scientists observe a stream located at the base of the explorable cave system. (Photo by Dan Doctor) Read more about Paleozoic karst aquifers of the Midwest...
Sinkhole-formed lakes near Winter Haven, FL. These sinkholes, which often are filled with permeable surficial sands, provide more direct avenues for water from the surficial aquifer system to recharge the underlying Upper Floridan aquifer. (from Spechler and Kroening, 2006) Read more about the Floridan and Biscayne aquifers...
Waterfall in Mammoth Cave Nat. Park. Recent rainfall has activated a large waterfall in the so-called Mammoth Dome, cascading water down on the path used by visistors through the cave. (Photo by Dan Doctor) Read more about Paleozoic karst aquifers of the Midwest...
Loss of water from the Peace River through underlying conduit during low-flow period, May 2004. The Peace River in this area is characterized by shallow, sometimes exposed carbonate units, with karst features that vary in type and size and include sinkholes, subsidence depressions, dissolution pipes, and enlarged fractures. (from Spechler and Kroening, 2006) Read more about the Floridan and Biscayne aquifers...

This website has an inventory of karst real-time and water-quality data available from the USGS. You can browse and search for 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: Nov 21 2009