## Breadcrumb

-  Water Resources Mission Area 
-  Science 

#           Karst Aquifers      

  Active

      By Water Resources Mission Area      July 20, 2021    

            -                Overview             
            -                Science             
            -                Publications             
            -                Partners             

Karst terrain is created from the dissolution of soluble rocks, principally limestone and dolomite. Karst areas are characterized by distinctive landforms (like springs, caves, sinkholes) and a unique hydrogeology that results in aquifers that are highly productive but extremely vulnerable to contamination.

### What is Karst?

Karst aquifers are a vital groundwater resource in the United States. In the United States, about 40% of the groundwater used for drinking comes from karst aquifers.

Some karst areas in the United States are famous, such as the springs of Florida, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, but in fact about 20 percent of the land surface in the U.S. is classified as karst. Other parts of the world with large areas of karst include China, Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia.

Karst hydrogeology is typified by a network of interconnected fissures, fractures and conduits emplaced in a relatively low-permeability rock matrix. Most of the groundwater flow and transport occurs through the network of openings, while most of the groundwater storage occurs in the matrix. As a result, most karst aquifers are highly heterogeneous and anisotropic, and much of karst research has focused on developing innovative approaches for better understanding and managing these valuable water resources.

View Media Details

###  

### Principal Karst Aquifers

                                - Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer  (OK) — Underlies more than 500 square miles in south central Oklahoma and is the principal water source for about 40,000 people. Many springs and small karst features, but only a few air-filled caves.
                                - Basin and Range and Bear River range carbonate aquifers  (NV, UT) — Some fractured carbonate rocks beneath alluvial basin fill. Includes areas near Cedar Break Nat. Monument, Great Basin Nat. Park, and the Bear River Range.
                                - Colorado Plateau karst  (AZ)
                                - Edwards Balcones Fault Zone aquifer  (OK, TX) — Highly faulted and fractured carbonate rocks of Cretaceous age in an area of about 4,000 square miles in south-central Texas. Primary drinking-water supply for San Antonio, TX.
                                - Edwards-Trinity Plateau aquifer  (AR, OK, TX) — Consists of rocks of Cretaceous age that are present in an area of about 35,500 square miles in west-central Texas.
                                - Upper Floridan and Biscayne aquifers  (AL, GA, FL, MI, SC)
                                - Madison aquifer  (MT, ND, NE, SD, WY, and Canada)— An important water resource in the northern plains states, where surface-water supplies are limited and population is increasing. It is one of the largest confined aquifer systems in the U.S.
                                - Midwest Paleozoic Carbonate aquifers  (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) — Karst developed in several Paleozoic aquifers that span the Midwest from Michigan to Tennessee. Contains some of the longest mapped caves in the world, including Kentucky's Mammoth Cave Nat. Park.
                                - New England karst aquifers  (MA, ME, VT) — Solution terrain in crystalline limestones and marbles mainly in northeastern Maine, western Vermont, and western Massachusetts.
                                - Ozark Plateau karst aquifers  (AR, KS, MO, OK) — Paleozoic carbonate rocks underlying several mid-continent states. Comprises two aquifers (Springfield and Ozark) and an intervening confining unit, and yields modest amounts of water.
                                - Roswell Basin aquifer  (NM) — An eastward-dipping carbonate aquifer overlain by a leaky evaporitic confining unit and an unconfined alluvial aquifer. Decades of intensive pumping have caused substantial declines in hydraulic head.
                                - Pacific Northwest basalt aquifers  (CA, ID, OR, WA) — Late Cenozoic basalt lava fields that contain lava tubes, fissures, open sinkholes, and caves formed by extrusion of the still-liquid portion of the lava.
                                - Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge aquifers  (AL, GA, MD, NC, PA, SC, TN, WV, VA) — Extensive areas of karst within complex geologic structures, resulting in highly variable karst-aquifer characteristics. Includes the Great Valley aquifer, an important water resource for many cities.

###  

### Karst Interest Group and Workshop

The USGS Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas. The 8th USGS KIG Workshop will be held virtually on October 19-21, 2021. See the Karst Interest Group Workshop webpage for more information, and for proceedings from previous meetings.

 

### Contacts

#### Allan K Clark

##### Hydrologist

Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

akclark@usgs.gov

210-691-9228

### Explore Search

                      - Drinkability
                      - Drinking and Household Use
                      - Erosion and Sedimentation
                      - Groundwater Monitoring
                      - Groundwater, Aquifers, Wells, and Springs
                      - Groundwater/Surface-Water Interactions
                      - Karst, Sinkholes, and Land Subsidence
                      - Mapping Water
                      - Plant and Animal Communities
                      - Streams and Rivers
                      - Urban Water Concerns
                      - Water Availability and Use
                      - Water Quality
                      - Water Supply and Demand
                      - Types of Water
                      - How We Use Water
                      - Measuring and Monitoring Water
                      - Common Water Issues
                      - Advanced Capabilities and Research
                      - Water

View All **

Below are other science projects associated with karst aquifers.

link

####                 Karst Interest Group (KIG) Workshop              

The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas.  The KIG encourages cooperative studies between USGS Programs and Water Science Centers, and between USGS and other Federal agencies, State and local agencies, and universities.

The 9th USGS KIG Workshop will be October 22-24, 2024 in Nashville, TN.

link

####   Karst Interest Group (KIG) Workshop

The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas.  The KIG encourages cooperative studies between USGS Programs and Water Science Centers, and between USGS and other Federal agencies, State and local agencies, and universities.

The 9th USGS KIG Workshop will be October 22-24, 2024 in Nashville, TN.

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Basin and Range and Bear River Range Carbonate Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Basin and Range and Bear River Range Carbonate Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Colorado Plateau Karst              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Colorado Plateau Karst

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Edwards Balcones Fault Zone Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Edwards Balcones Fault Zone Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Upper Floridan and Biscayne Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Upper Floridan and Biscayne Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Madison Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Madison Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Midwest Paleozoic Carbonate Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Midwest Paleozoic Carbonate Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: New England Karst Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: New England Karst Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Ozark Plateau Karst Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Ozark Plateau Karst Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 19, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Roswell Basin Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 19, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Roswell Basin Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 19, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Pacific Northwest Pseudokarst Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 19, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Pacific Northwest Pseudokarst Aquifers

Learn More

#### Pagination

-                Current page            1 
-                Page            2 
-  Next page›› 
-  Last pageLast » 

Below are publications associated with karst aquifers.

August 7, 2014

####                 Karst in the United States: A digital map compilation and database              

National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

December 16, 2011

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011              

Water Resources Mission Area, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

May 30, 2008

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008              

Water Resources Mission Area

January 1, 2005

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Rapid City, South Dakota, September 12-15, 2005              

Water Resources Mission Area

January 1, 2004

####                 Digital engineering aspects of karst map:  A GIS version of Davies, W.E., Simpson, J.H., Ohlmacher, G.C., Kirk, W.S., and Newton, E.G., 1984, Engineering aspects of karst:  U.S. Geological Survey, National atlas of the United States of America, scale 1:7,              

Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

January 1, 2002

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, August 20-22, 2002              

Water Resources Mission Area

January 1, 2001

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group: proceedings, St Petersburg, Florida February 13-16, 2001              

Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program

Below are partners associated with this project.

#### Carbonate Critical Zone Research Coordination Network

#### Karst Waters Institute

#### National Cave and Karst Research Institute

Karst terrain is created from the dissolution of soluble rocks, principally limestone and dolomite. Karst areas are characterized by distinctive landforms (like springs, caves, sinkholes) and a unique hydrogeology that results in aquifers that are highly productive but extremely vulnerable to contamination.

### What is Karst?

Karst aquifers are a vital groundwater resource in the United States. In the United States, about 40% of the groundwater used for drinking comes from karst aquifers.

Some karst areas in the United States are famous, such as the springs of Florida, Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, but in fact about 20 percent of the land surface in the U.S. is classified as karst. Other parts of the world with large areas of karst include China, Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia.

Karst hydrogeology is typified by a network of interconnected fissures, fractures and conduits emplaced in a relatively low-permeability rock matrix. Most of the groundwater flow and transport occurs through the network of openings, while most of the groundwater storage occurs in the matrix. As a result, most karst aquifers are highly heterogeneous and anisotropic, and much of karst research has focused on developing innovative approaches for better understanding and managing these valuable water resources.

View Media Details

###  

### Principal Karst Aquifers

                                - Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer  (OK) — Underlies more than 500 square miles in south central Oklahoma and is the principal water source for about 40,000 people. Many springs and small karst features, but only a few air-filled caves.
                                - Basin and Range and Bear River range carbonate aquifers  (NV, UT) — Some fractured carbonate rocks beneath alluvial basin fill. Includes areas near Cedar Break Nat. Monument, Great Basin Nat. Park, and the Bear River Range.
                                - Colorado Plateau karst  (AZ)
                                - Edwards Balcones Fault Zone aquifer  (OK, TX) — Highly faulted and fractured carbonate rocks of Cretaceous age in an area of about 4,000 square miles in south-central Texas. Primary drinking-water supply for San Antonio, TX.
                                - Edwards-Trinity Plateau aquifer  (AR, OK, TX) — Consists of rocks of Cretaceous age that are present in an area of about 35,500 square miles in west-central Texas.
                                - Upper Floridan and Biscayne aquifers  (AL, GA, FL, MI, SC)
                                - Madison aquifer  (MT, ND, NE, SD, WY, and Canada)— An important water resource in the northern plains states, where surface-water supplies are limited and population is increasing. It is one of the largest confined aquifer systems in the U.S.
                                - Midwest Paleozoic Carbonate aquifers  (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) — Karst developed in several Paleozoic aquifers that span the Midwest from Michigan to Tennessee. Contains some of the longest mapped caves in the world, including Kentucky's Mammoth Cave Nat. Park.
                                - New England karst aquifers  (MA, ME, VT) — Solution terrain in crystalline limestones and marbles mainly in northeastern Maine, western Vermont, and western Massachusetts.
                                - Ozark Plateau karst aquifers  (AR, KS, MO, OK) — Paleozoic carbonate rocks underlying several mid-continent states. Comprises two aquifers (Springfield and Ozark) and an intervening confining unit, and yields modest amounts of water.
                                - Roswell Basin aquifer  (NM) — An eastward-dipping carbonate aquifer overlain by a leaky evaporitic confining unit and an unconfined alluvial aquifer. Decades of intensive pumping have caused substantial declines in hydraulic head.
                                - Pacific Northwest basalt aquifers  (CA, ID, OR, WA) — Late Cenozoic basalt lava fields that contain lava tubes, fissures, open sinkholes, and caves formed by extrusion of the still-liquid portion of the lava.
                                - Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge aquifers  (AL, GA, MD, NC, PA, SC, TN, WV, VA) — Extensive areas of karst within complex geologic structures, resulting in highly variable karst-aquifer characteristics. Includes the Great Valley aquifer, an important water resource for many cities.

###  

### Karst Interest Group and Workshop

The USGS Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas. The 8th USGS KIG Workshop will be held virtually on October 19-21, 2021. See the Karst Interest Group Workshop webpage for more information, and for proceedings from previous meetings.

 

### Contacts

#### Allan K Clark

##### Hydrologist

Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

akclark@usgs.gov

210-691-9228

### Explore Search

                      - Drinkability
                      - Drinking and Household Use
                      - Erosion and Sedimentation
                      - Groundwater Monitoring
                      - Groundwater, Aquifers, Wells, and Springs
                      - Groundwater/Surface-Water Interactions
                      - Karst, Sinkholes, and Land Subsidence
                      - Mapping Water
                      - Plant and Animal Communities
                      - Streams and Rivers
                      - Urban Water Concerns
                      - Water Availability and Use
                      - Water Quality
                      - Water Supply and Demand
                      - Types of Water
                      - How We Use Water
                      - Measuring and Monitoring Water
                      - Common Water Issues
                      - Advanced Capabilities and Research
                      - Water

View All **

Below are other science projects associated with karst aquifers.

link

####                 Karst Interest Group (KIG) Workshop              

The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas.  The KIG encourages cooperative studies between USGS Programs and Water Science Centers, and between USGS and other Federal agencies, State and local agencies, and universities.

The 9th USGS KIG Workshop will be October 22-24, 2024 in Nashville, TN.

link

####   Karst Interest Group (KIG) Workshop

The Karst Interest Group’s (KIG) mission is to encourage and support collaboration and technology transfer among scientists working in karst areas.  The KIG encourages cooperative studies between USGS Programs and Water Science Centers, and between USGS and other Federal agencies, State and local agencies, and universities.

The 9th USGS KIG Workshop will be October 22-24, 2024 in Nashville, TN.

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Basin and Range and Bear River Range Carbonate Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Basin and Range and Bear River Range Carbonate Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Colorado Plateau Karst              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Colorado Plateau Karst

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Edwards Balcones Fault Zone Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Edwards Balcones Fault Zone Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Upper Floridan and Biscayne Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Upper Floridan and Biscayne Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Madison Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Madison Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Midwest Paleozoic Carbonate Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Midwest Paleozoic Carbonate Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: New England Karst Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: New England Karst Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 20, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Ozark Plateau Karst Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 20, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Ozark Plateau Karst Aquifers

Learn More

link

July 19, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Roswell Basin Aquifer              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 19, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Roswell Basin Aquifer

Learn More

link

July 19, 2021

####                 Karst Aquifers: Pacific Northwest Pseudokarst Aquifers              

Water Resources Mission Area

link

July 19, 2021

####   Karst Aquifers: Pacific Northwest Pseudokarst Aquifers

Learn More

#### Pagination

-                Current page            1 
-                Page            2 
-  Next page›› 
-  Last pageLast » 

Below are publications associated with karst aquifers.

August 7, 2014

####                 Karst in the United States: A digital map compilation and database              

National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

December 16, 2011

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 26-29, 2011              

Water Resources Mission Area, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

May 30, 2008

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008              

Water Resources Mission Area

January 1, 2005

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Rapid City, South Dakota, September 12-15, 2005              

Water Resources Mission Area

January 1, 2004

####                 Digital engineering aspects of karst map:  A GIS version of Davies, W.E., Simpson, J.H., Ohlmacher, G.C., Kirk, W.S., and Newton, E.G., 1984, Engineering aspects of karst:  U.S. Geological Survey, National atlas of the United States of America, scale 1:7,              

Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

January 1, 2002

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group proceedings, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, August 20-22, 2002              

Water Resources Mission Area

January 1, 2001

####                 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group: proceedings, St Petersburg, Florida February 13-16, 2001              

Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program

Below are partners associated with this project.

#### Carbonate Critical Zone Research Coordination Network

#### Karst Waters Institute

#### National Cave and Karst Research Institute