Karst Landscapes

In site one there was a high proportion of very unspherical rocks. According to this the hypothesis is right, in site two there is a lot more smother rocks medium sized and in site 3 there are very small pebbles which are very smooth and spherical. The pebbles get smoother and rounder while it goes downstream. Due to us only taking about 10 rocks our result may have been not right as there were some pebbles which were largely over sized. Most of the other load is dissolved by solution such as limestone and chalk

The site has been elected and given UNESCO World Heritage status for two reasons, or criteria. One of the reasons for the listing is its natural beauty, abundance and diversity of structures in the caves. The stalactites in the caverns vary in size and height, with one, called the “Witch’s Finger”, reaching up to 6 metres in height.

When considering excavation methods, the location of the site has to be taken into account, as many archaeological methodologies can cause long-term damage to the site. So considering conservation strategies and methods is crucial. This directly applies to New Kinord, as the

Because the desolation and erosion depends the valley with time reducing the water table and allowing the water from the cave to diapate.

The Wyandotte caves are made out of limestone like any other cave in Indiana but the Wyandotte cave has a “cliff ”so when people go they have to be careful. There is a Mount Baldy in California but the one in indiana is special. Mount Baldy isn't a mountain, it’s a sand dune. Sand dunes are mountains hills and ridges with sand on them and they “Hide” behind beaches and are affected by tides. In other words Mount Baldy is a mountain with sand on it. Mount Baldy is also known as the “living” sand dune, because every year it is someplace new, South of the shore of Lake

This concept is exhibited in the inquiry as I will be discussing how Princess Margaret Rose Cave maintains life, how they save humans, what do they allow in the cave to make sure everyone is safe and what workers do to the stalactites and cave walls when rainfall has come into them.

The aim is to identify and associate landforms, rock types and soils to the natural environment and its plants and animals and also to investigate the history of the local environment, comprising human impacts over the last 50 years. The impact of human alterations to the environment includes increased soil erosion and changes in river flows.

The mission took the divers through Florida’s karst terrain, which consisted of underground streams, fissures, and caves. Surface waters seep down through the soil and limestone, collecting carbon dioxide along the way which in turn increases the water’s acidity. Once it is able to penetrate the underground system it slowly breaks down the cave systems below, resulting in the rocks ‘Swiss Cheese’ appearance. The direct relationship between surface and groundwater is demonstrated by said appearance, and unfortunately reinforced by the multitude of trash and debris the divers found below the surface, ranging from oil drums to whole barbeque grills. The above

The authors said there were signs of human activities in the caves and that there are more archaeological work that need to be done.

Rarely do the geologic processes of the earth make major news headlines, but oftentimes when they do, it is because a catastrophic event has occurred and has seized public attention. This was unfortunately the case in 2013, when Florida native Jeff Bush became the victim of a tragic geologic event that left many Americans wondering if they were truly ever standing on “solid ground” (Sinkhole Swallows Florida Man). Bush, and a large portion of his suburban home, was swallowed up by a sudden sinkhole as his brother looked on in horror, trying in vain to rescue him as he was forced deeper underground. This sinkhole developed as a result of the dissolution of limestone, which is prevalent under much of Florida’s soil, and the

Powerful forces of the earth cause a landmass to slide under the water. The hot water from the floor of the ocean then melted the rock from the land, forming granite rocks (U.S. Department of the Interior). Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary rock are scattered through Sierra Nevada Batholith, which covered most of the park during the Jurassic and Cretaceous times (Harris). Weathering and the batholithic makeup impact the exterior of the landforms within these national parks. Yosemite National Park has a very similar geological history compared to the Sequoia and King Canyon National parks, due to the fact that they all lie in the Sierra Nevada’s peak and western slopes (Harris). When it comes to lithospheric extension in the Death Valley Region, during the time of rapid growth, the plates in this region rapidly expanded. In the region of the Sequoia and King Canyon national park the plates did not expand rapidly, thus indicating that more extension occurred in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon region (Jones). Under the surface, there are many marble caves that are endemic to the area (U.S. Department of the Interior). It is clear that natural forces like these have the ability to create beautiful and interesting geology. The description of the tectonic plates would be an ocean continent subduction zone (U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey). This occurs because of the above process. A specific rock located in the national park is the Moro Rock. Moro rock is a large granite rock that is shaped like a dome. It was made by the process of exfoliation that has to do with the layers of granite expanding over time (U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey). The exfoliation process creates many of the rock features located in the park. This exfoliation process is the same one that creates many of

Similar to a cave, a sinkhole begins by acidic water dissolving carbonate bedrock creating an underground void. If the void grows close enough to the surface, the structural integrity of the surface material will eventually give way and a sinkhole is formed. These depressions can range in size from a few square yards to over hundreds of acres. The depth of sinkholes can vary from shallow to hundreds of feet. Although there are nearly 16,000 verified sinkholes in the state, the MGS caution there are a great number which have not been reported or documented. Some sinkholes in Missouri are known to be a depth greater than 100 feet though no exact records concerning depths are maintained. Located in western Boone County, the largest known sinkhole in Missouri covers approximately 700 acres. If a sinkhole does occur, it is recommended that a registered geologist or professional engineer be consulted to assist in the stabilization of the sinkhole. Filling a sinkhole, referred to as remediation, generally consists of removing all soil materials down to the bedrock surface and filling it with size-graded material. Larger rocks should be used first with each successive layer consisting of gradually smaller grained material. Geotextile fabric covered by top soil will allow water

Soluble carbonate rocks under the surface and the collapse of old mines are common causes for sinkholes. Much of Alabama’s land is underlain by limestone, which is vulnerable to dissolution and leads to the formation of caves or sinkholes. The largest sinkhole recorded in the state developed near Calera in 1972 and was 325 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 120 feet deep. Northeast Alabama also suffers from earthquakes due to the state’s proximity to the Southern Appalachian Seismic Zone that runs along the Appalachian Mountains. The largest earthquake recorded occurred October 1916 at a 5.1 magnitude and spanned multiple states. The second largest earthquake in Alabama occurred October 24, 1997 at a 4.9 magnitude. In addition to sinkholes and earthquakes, the state suffers landslides due to rock strength. Most of the state is categorized as argillaceous rocks such as shales, clayey soil, and poorly compacted fills. A few areas are classified as weakly cemented rocks and soils such as sandy soils and poorly cemented sandstone. Though there are clusters of strongly cemented rocks, much of the state is included in the weaker categories. This means that they are more susceptible to landslides when earthquakes occur. (Geological Survey of

This formation is a very fine grain Mississippian limestone. To test to see if this was the Bangor formation we used HCL and because there was a reaction we know its limestone. This formation could also be described as gray in color as well as an average thickness of 700 feet. We see the Bangor until stop eight, where we see a very different vertical bedding. Also different at stop eight is the outcrop no longer reacts with HCL. From this we gathered that we had moved into the Hartselle formation. In the Hartselle Formation, Mississippian aged sandstones are dominant. This particular stop had a large amount of jointing. After the Hartselle, we figured the Pride Mountain Formation would be next, however at stop nine we see the Maury Formation present. This stop focused on the rock located inside the creek. Because we were unable to go into the creek to get the strike and dips, we once again had to do a projected orientation. Also found on this stop were natural sulfur springs, easy to notice with the smell that it gives off. The Maury formation consist of Mississippian- Silurian aged shale. At the next stop, stop 10, we encounter the Ft. Payne formation. Although this area location was thickly vegetated, we were able to conduct the acid test and saw that the HCL reacts in some places but not all. From this we concluded that this was the cherty limestone of the Ft. Payne formation. The following stop, 12, we went up section and arrived at the Maury Formation once again. At the final stop, location 13, we see Ft. Payne Formation. All of the metamorphism and deformation in the southernmost Appalachians can be related to the movement of the thrust sheets and stacks (Higgins,

Past 360 million years ago, Kentucky was approximately 10 degree to the south of the equator when caves started to form. Kentucky was also occupied with water containing tiny organism having shells of calcium carbonate. When these tiny organisms died, shells accumulation of these creatures together with calcium carbonate emanating from water, built up more than millions of years such that it was hundreds of feet thick. On top of these formations, fifty feet of sandstone were deposited by another river system. Sandstone and limestone were exposed when the sea level started to fall approximately 280 million ago (Thompson & Thompson, 2003). When rivers that we have today started to form, sandstone topped plateau covered the Green River whereas a low limestone plain extended towards southeast direction (Call,