Karst Terminology and Karst Types in China

Before discussing the main karst types in China, some aspects of Chinese karst terminology should be described. In geomorphology, Chinese geographers and hydrogeologists are more concerned with groupings of landforms than with the origins of individual forms. Emphasis in China has been on the hills or positive forms of karst, whereas in Europe more attention has been given to the negative landforms — the closed depressions. Closed depressions interrupt or seem to replace the valley drainage networks, and were regarded by European geomorphologists as the main organizational units in the landscape. The main Chinese terms for different types of karst hills, for dry valleys and for closed depressions are given by Atkinson in Song Linhua (1986a) and to which reference will now be made. These terms are descriptive and do not in any way presume any particular mode or age of formation. There are also some variations in their use in different parts of China.