Title
Black phytokarst from Hell, Cayman Islands, British West Indies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-1973
Abstract
Phytokarst is a distinctive landform resulting from a curious type of biologic erosion. Filamentous algae bore their way into limestone to produce black-coated, jagged pinnacles marked by delicate, lacy dissection that lacks any gravitational orientation. Ordinary rainfall-produced karst and littoral karst are characterized by flat-bottomed pans and vertically oriented flutes, thus differing from phytokarst. Algae attack by dissolving calcite preferentially to dolomite. © 1973 Geological Society of America.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Bulletin of the Geological Society of America
First Page
2351
Last Page
2360
Recommended Citation
Folk, R., Roberts, H., & Moore, C. (1973). Black phytokarst from Hell, Cayman Islands, British West Indies. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 84 (7), 2351-2360. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1973)84<2351:BPFHCI>2.0.CO;2