1. What is this karst landform (N 47.21181 W 121.94142), how did it form, and what do the hatchered contours mean (that you can see in Acme Mapper topo tap)?
a.
This blind lake formed when the hole to the underground cavern system plugged up with silt. The hatchered contours indicate that the area collects water.
b.
This depression formed when the limestone roof fell into an underground cavern, and this is what the hatchered contours mean.
c.
This doline formed by the dissolution of granite rock, and the hatchered contours tell you that the location is a depression.
d.
This doline formed through limestone dissolution, and the hatchered contours tell you that the location is a depression.
1 points
QUESTION 2
1. What is this karst landform (N 37.94188 W 80.45261) and how did it form?
Hint: this is the end of Culverson Creek. It is the lowest elevation along Culverson Creek! Really. You can check the elevations on Acme Mapper topo tab or Google Earth. Where does it go from this point?
a.
This blind valley formed because the water goes down into an underground cave system.
b.
This offset stream formed when a fault separated the upstream portion of the stream from its downstream segment.
c.
This dead-end stream was built during the civil war as a trap for the union army.
d.
This interrupted stream formed because the water goes down a sinkhole into an underground water storage system built by the surrounding farms.
1 points
QUESTION 3
1. Karst involves landscapes created from rocks that dissolve. While limestone is the most typical rock that dissolves, halite (sodium chloride) salt can also create karst landforms. Please look immediately to the east of the Tuomu Erfeng Shenqi Grand Canyon in Xinjiang, China (N 41.557846, W 80.772667). There is also a larger feature to the northwest (N 41.618222, E 80.627570). If you look at these forms in Google Earth, you will see a bizzare landscape. This is what the landscape looks like on the ground:
http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/86000/86861/awate_pho.jpg
This features would completely dissolve away in a humid climate. However, in this hyperarid area, the salt absorbs enough moisture to ooze and flow with gravity creating this form. If you want to read more about this form, just click here:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86861
salt glacier
cave system
salt river