Karst is an area of limestone terrane characterized by sinks, ravines, and underground streams
The word Karst comes from Slovenia where the features of a karst landscape were first described
A Karst Landscape
The Driftless Area
Region
Southeast Minnesota
Counties and Cities
Dodge: Claremont, Dodge Center, Hayfield, Kasson, Mantorville, West Concord
Goodhue: Bellechester, Cannon Falls, Dennison, Goodhue, Kenyon, Lake City, Pine Island, Red Wing, Wanamingo, Zumbrota
Mower: Adams, Austin, Brownsdale, Dexter, Elkton, Grand Meadow, Lansing, Le Roy, Lyle, Racine, Rose Creek, Sargeant, Taopi, Waltham
Fillmore: Canton, Chatfield, Fountain, Harmony, Lanesboro, Mabel, Ostrander, Peterson, Preston, Rushford Village, Rushford, Spring Valley, Whalan, Wykoff
Houston: Brownsville, Caledonia, Eitzen, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, Spring Grove
Olmstead: Byron, Chatfield, Dover, Eyota, Oronoco, Pine Island, Rochester, and Stewartville
Wabasha: Bellechester, Elgin, Hammond, Kellogg, Lake City, Mazepa, Millville, Minneiska, Planview, Wabasha, Zumbro Falls
Winona: Altura, Dakota, Homer, Lewiston, Minnesota City, Rollingstone, Saint Charles, Stockton, Utica, Winona
Counties and Townships
Dodge: Ashland, Canisteo, Claremont, Concord, Ellington, Hayfield, Mantorville, Milton, Ripley, Vernon, Wasioja
Goodhue: Belle Creek, Belvidere, Cannon Falls, Cherry Grove, Featherstone, Florence, Goodhue, Hay Creek, Holden, Kenyon, Leon, Minneola, Pine Island, Roscoe, Stanton, Vasa, Wacouta, Wanamingo, Warsaw, Welch, Zumbrota
Mower: Adams, Austin, Bennington, Clayton, Dexter, Elkton, Frankford, Grand Meadow, Lansing, Le Roy, Lodi, Marshall, Nevada, Pleasant Valley, Racine, Red Rock, Sargeant, Udolpho, Waltham
Fillmore: Amherst, Arendahl, Beaver, Bloomfield, Bristol, Carimona, Chatfield, Chester, Fillmore, Forestville, Fountain, Harmony, Holt, Jordan, Newburg, Norway, Preston, Rushford, Spring Valley, York
Houston: Black Hammer, Brownsville, Caledonia, Crooked Creek, Hokah, Houston, Jefferson, La Crescent, Mayville, Money Creek, Mound Prairie, Sheldon, Spring Grove, Union, Wilmington
Olmstead: Byron, Cascade, Dover, Elmira, Eyota, Farmington, Haverhill, High Forest, Kalmar, Marion, New Haven, Orion, Oronoco, Pleasant Grove, Quincy, Rochester, Rock Dell, Salem, Viola, Webster
Wabasha: Chester, Elgin, Gillford, Glasgow, Greenfield, Highland, Hyde Park, Lake, Mazeppa, Minneiska, Mount Pleasant, Oakwood, Pepin, Plainview, Zumbro, Watopa
Winona: Norton, Pleasant Hill, Dresbach, Elba, Fremont, Homer, Mount Vernon, New Hartford, Rollingstone, Saratoga, St. Charles, Warren, Whitewater, Wilson, Wiscoy, Wyattville
Rivers
Canon, Mississippi, Root, Zumbro
Landscape features
Caves: Carley State Park, Crystal, Goliath’s, Mystery, Niagara, Lost, Spring Valley Caverns,
Recreation Areas
“John Ackerman established the Minnesota Cave Preserve in 1989 to preserve, study, protect and to promote conscientious exploration and conservation of our unique underground wilderness.
From the beginning, John recognized the need to protect the fragile and timeless environment, both above and underground. Conservation has always been a prime tenet of the Minnesota Cave Preserve.
The Minnesota Cave Preserve owns eight preserves in S.E. Minnesota and Northern Iowa, which provides access to 36 miles of cave passages. The properties encompass 45 caves, 724.4 surface acres and 1,300.33 acres of additional subterranean cave rights.”