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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.

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...
Endangered Barton Springs Salamander Endangered Barton Springs Salamander. The Barton Springs Salamander, Eurycea sosorum, is a federally listed endangered species. It has been found only in and around the major springs of the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards aquifer. (Photo courtesy of Lisa O'Donnell, City of Austin) Read more about the Edwards Balcones Fault Zone aquifer...
Fluorescent tracer injection into a sinkhole in the Leetown area, WV Fluorescent tracer injection into a sinkhole in the Leetown area, WV. Tracer tests were conducted as part of intensive investigations of the hydrogeology, water quality, and groundwater flow of the karst aquifer in the Hopewell Run Watershed, northern Shenandoah Valley, near Leetown, West Virginia. (Photo by Mark Kozar) 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...
Sinkholes from subsidence event, Florida, February 1998 Sinkholes from subsidence event, Florida, February 1998. Over 700 sinkholes formed over a 20-acre area in response to well drilling. A well had been drilled about 20 feet into a cavity, when air-lift well-development methods began being used. Immediately after, small sinkholes started appearing in the surrounding area. Subsidence continued for several hours, with sinkholes closest to the well expanding to become the largest in the area. (Photo by Ann Tihansky) Read more about the Upper Floridan and Biscayne aquifers...

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