Caves and karst

The Mendip landscape is dominated by ‘karst’, a suite of landforms created by the action of water on limestone. Rainwater is a weak acid and this dissolves the limestone, creating a landscape in which much of the drainage is underground. Landforms typical of karst include dry valleys and gorges, closed depressions known as dolines or sinkholes, sinking streams, caves and large springs.

• How caves form
• Dry valleys and gorges
• Dolines and sinkholes
• Mendip caves
• Going Caving
• Hydrogeology