Loudoun :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Karst Topography = Caves...Where are they?
Posted by:
¿¿¿¿
()
Date: June 02, 2011 02:47PM
Found this info at: http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=2994
Karst
An area of approximately 18,000 acres just east of Catoctin Mountain along the Route 15 corridor north of Leesburg is characterized as “karst terrain.”
Karst terrain refers to areas where the underlying limestone and other carbonate rocks have been dissolved over time by naturally-occurring mildly acidic water, creating a landscape characterized by underground cavities, sinkholes, and springs. A sinkhole forms when an underground cavity increases in size until it is unable to support the overlying rock and soil and it collapses. The locations of these underground cavities can only be identified before they collapse through geotechnical and geophysical testing.
In karst areas, surface water can flow directly into the groundwater system through sinkholes without the beneficial filtering normally provided by the slow percolation of water through soil. Consequently, groundwater in karst areas is more susceptible to pollution. Given the potential hazards of sinkholes and groundwater pollution in karst, land development performance standards, testing, and monitoring are important to help safeguard the public and the environment. A map of the karst area and locations of several features related to karst conditions is provided here. Additional information is available on the county Health Department’s Limestone and Wells web page.
Certain types of geologic conditions may, either directly or indirectly, provide important beneficial resources upon which business and citizens depend.
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I've done a little research and found that caves are prevalent in "karst" regions. I live within a mile from the "Limestone Overlay District" and have only heard of one sinkhole appearing (outside of the Rasberry Falls basement sinkholes), and one cave formation. Does anyone have anymore info? As weird as it sounds, I'd love to explore some of the caves.
Karst
An area of approximately 18,000 acres just east of Catoctin Mountain along the Route 15 corridor north of Leesburg is characterized as “karst terrain.”
Karst terrain refers to areas where the underlying limestone and other carbonate rocks have been dissolved over time by naturally-occurring mildly acidic water, creating a landscape characterized by underground cavities, sinkholes, and springs. A sinkhole forms when an underground cavity increases in size until it is unable to support the overlying rock and soil and it collapses. The locations of these underground cavities can only be identified before they collapse through geotechnical and geophysical testing.
In karst areas, surface water can flow directly into the groundwater system through sinkholes without the beneficial filtering normally provided by the slow percolation of water through soil. Consequently, groundwater in karst areas is more susceptible to pollution. Given the potential hazards of sinkholes and groundwater pollution in karst, land development performance standards, testing, and monitoring are important to help safeguard the public and the environment. A map of the karst area and locations of several features related to karst conditions is provided here. Additional information is available on the county Health Department’s Limestone and Wells web page.
Certain types of geologic conditions may, either directly or indirectly, provide important beneficial resources upon which business and citizens depend.
****
I've done a little research and found that caves are prevalent in "karst" regions. I live within a mile from the "Limestone Overlay District" and have only heard of one sinkhole appearing (outside of the Rasberry Falls basement sinkholes), and one cave formation. Does anyone have anymore info? As weird as it sounds, I'd love to explore some of the caves.
Re: Karst Topography = Caves...Where are they?
Posted by:
down under
()
Date: June 02, 2011 08:41PM
Find the new Luray Caverns...just follow a farm kid.
I think you have to go up to go down, however, since if you go down to go down you end up under undergrund water.
I think you have to go up to go down, however, since if you go down to go down you end up under undergrund water.