Glossary of Karst and Cave Terms

Field, M.S., 1999, A lexicon of cave and karst terminology with special reference to environmental karst hydrology: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, EPA/600/R-99/006, 201 p.

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Term	Description
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bedload	The part of the total stream load that is moved on or immediately above the stream bed, such as the ...		View
bedrock	Solid rock underlying unconsolidated material [16].		View
belay	A safety rope tied around a caver that is played out or taken in by a second person as the ...		View
bench mark	A relatively permanent mark, natural or artificial, furnishing a survey point at a known elevation in relation to an adopted ...		View
bend	Curve in a water course [16].		View
bentonite	A colloidal clay, largely made up of the mineral sodium montmorillonite, a hydrated aluminum silicate [6].		View
beudantite	A cave mineral - PbFe3(AsO4)(SO4)(OH)6 [11].		View
bicarbonate	A salt containing the radical HCO3 -1, such as Ca(HCO3)2 [10].		View
bifurcation	The forklike separation of a water course into two arms [16].		View
bifurcation ratio	The ratio of the number of stream segments of a given order to the number of segments of next higher ...		View
biological clock	An inherited timemeasuring process within a living thing, which governs its responses to certain external events [23].		View
biomass	The total weight of living matter, whether in an entire community, at a particular trophic level, or of a particular ...		View
biomicrite	A microscopic-textured limestone composed of skeletal grains in a matrix of micrite; micrite is a finely crystalline carbonate sediment with ...		View
biospeleology	1. The study of subterranean living organisms, particularly in karst caves and other openings in rock formations [9, 21]. 2. ...		View
biphosphammite	A cave mineral - NH4H2PO4 [11].		View
birnessite	A cave mineral - (Na,Ca)Mn7O14 3H2O [11].		View
blade	In a cave, a thin sharp projection jutting out from roof, wall, or floor, of which it is an integral ...		View
blanket	A thick layer of dripstone, not translucent [10]. See also bacon; curtain; drapery.		View
blind chimney	See chimney.		View
blind shaft	A vertical extension upwards from part of a cave, but not reaching the surface; small in area in relation to ...		View
blind valley	1. A karst valley abruptly terminated by the passage underground of the watercourse which has hitherto resisted the karst processes ...		View
bloedite	A cave mineral - Na2Mg(SO4)2.4H2) [11].		View
blowhole	1. Opening in the roof of a cave or cavern through which air is expelled vigorously. In coastal areas the ...		View
blowing cave	A cave out of which or into which a current of air flows intermittently [10].		View
blowing well	A well or borehole into which air is sucked and from which air is blown (often with considerable velocity) due ...		View
blowout	An uncontrolled escape of drilling fluid, gas, oil, or water from a well caused by the formation pressure being greater ...		View
blue hole	1. Deep resurgence pool, notably in Jamaica and Florida, that may have a blue color due to the presence of ...		View
bobbin	A decender that opens to enclose the rope around two fixed pulleys. May have a handle ("STOP") which must be ...		View
bog	Swamp [16].		View
bogaz	1. (Slavic.) An elongated depression in limestone or karst terrain; thus it embraces a defile, a blind valley or a ...		View

Glossary references