Karst lakes are formed as the result of a collapse of

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, especially in water-soluble rocks such as

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

and

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. This process is known as

karstification Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

. They can cover areas of several 100 square kilometres. Their shallow lakebed is usually an insoluble layer of

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

so that water is impounded, leading to the formation of

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s. Many karst lakes only exist periodically, but return regularly after heavy rainfall.

Distribution

Karst lakes are found in the area around the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

of Germany (e. g. the Juessee and the Bauerngraben in the South Harz Karst Landscape Biosphere Reserve, an episodic karst lake on the

Karst Trail The Karst Trail (german: Karstwanderweg) is a marked and signed footpath that runs for over 250 kilometres between Förste in Lower Saxony and Pölsfeld in Saxony-Anhalt through the karst landscape of the Harz, South Harz in Germany. The path ru ...

), in South Germany (e.g. the

Eichener See The Eichener See ("Lake Eichen"), known in the Alemannic dialect as the Eiemer See, near Eichen in the Baden-Württemberg county of Lörrach is a periodic (''astatic'') karst lake in the Southern Black Forest in Germany. The lake, which only c ...

), in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the region of

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Au ...

, in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

the Tudre and the region of Salajõe, in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

(e. g. the

Cerkniško jezero Lake Cerknica (; sl, Cerkniško jezero, german: Zirknitzer See) is an intermittent lake in the southern part of the Cerknica Polje, a karst polje in Inner Carniola, a region in southwestern Slovenia. The lake, oriented in the Dinaric direction fr ...

), in Montenegro and Albania (e.g.,

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

), in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

the so-called turloughs (there is also a turlough in Wales: Pant-y-llyn near

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the B ...

), some in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and also in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(

Andalo Andalo (''Àndel'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in north Italy, with some 1,200 inhabitants in 2021. It is the seat of the Comunità di Valle dell'Altopiano della Paganella. Geography The town lies on the Pagan ...

lake). Even the

cenote A cenote ( or ; ) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The regional term is specifically associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where cenotes were commonly used for ...

s in the north of the Mexican peninsula of

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

, which were known by the

Mayans The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical reg ...

, may be classed as karst lakes. Mexico Cenotes.jpg, The ''

Cenote Sagrado The Sacred Cenote ( es, cenote sagrado, , "sacred well"; alternatively known as the "Well of Sacrifice") is a water-filled sinkhole in limestone at the pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in the northern Yucatán Peninsula. I ...

'' near

Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with the emphasis reversed in English to ; from yua, Chiʼchʼèen Ìitshaʼ () "at the mouth of the well of the Itza people" was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal ...

is one of the best known karst lakes in Yucatán Otjikoto Lake.jpg, The

Otjikoto Lake Otjikoto Lake is the smaller of only two permanent natural lakes in Namibia. It is a sinkhole lake that was created by a collapsing Karst topography, karst cave. It is located north-west of Tsumeb and only 100 meters from the main road B1 road (Na ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

is a permanent karst lake

References

{{Reflist

External links

Eichener See
Lakes by type

Distribution

See also

References

External links