Karst is very vulnerable to groundwater pollution, due to ease of water flow. Natural filtration is nearly nonexistent in karst. This section will explore the unique problems associated with living in karst areas in Central Florida.

Karst is a term geologists use to describe a landscape found on carbonate rocks (limestone in our case). Karst contains such features as caves, sinkholes, large springs, and sinking streams. These landforms are created by water dissolving the bedrock over many thousands of years. Much like a piece of Swiss cheese coated with soil, Central Florida contains these features and the unique environmental problems associated with them.

As rain falls through the atmosphere, it picks up CO2 which dissolves in the droplets. Once the rain hits the ground, it percolates through the soil and picks up more CO2 to form a weak solution of carbonic acid. The infiltrating water naturally exploits any cracks or crevices in the rock. Over long periods, with a continuous supply of CO2 - enriched water, the limestone bedrock begins to dissolve. Openings in the bedrock increase in size and an underground drainage system begins to develop, allowing more water to pass, further accelerating the formation of karst. Eventually this leads to the development of subsurface caves.

Karst is all about drainage. Karst areas are typically devoid of surface water because all of the water is channeled underground by sinkholes and caves. You can compare karst features to plumbing. Sinkholes are the drains and caves are the pipes.

The entire state of Florida is a karst region. The state is a limestone plateau formed millions of years ago when the area was a shallow sea. As tiny sea creatures died, their bodies piled up on the bottom of the sea and formed the 1000 foot thick limestone bedrock that underlies the entire state.

Although the entire peninsula has karst activity going on under the ground, only certain areas of the state is it visible. Certain areas of the state have less overburden (clay and soil) on top of the bedrock. SEE MAP