Karstification

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The geological process of limestone's dissolution, resulting in distinctive landforms like sinkholes, caves, and underground rivers
2. The gradual transformation of a carbonate rock landscape through chemical weathering and erosion into a complex of surface and subsurface features
3. A natural phenomenon involving the alteration of soluble rocks, typically by water, leading to the formation of unique karst terrains characterized by their irregular topography

Etymology: Karstification is a straightforward compound: the noun "karst" with the suffix "-ification", which turns a base into a noun for the process of making or becoming that thing. The suffix comes from Latin "-ficare", a verb-forming element meaning "to make", and it entered English through French. Karstification therefore names the process of making a landscape karst, that is, shaped by the gradual dissolving of soluble rock such as limestone. The real story lies in "karst" itself, which is a place name. It comes from the Kras plateau, a limestone region on the border of modern Slovenia and Italy, whose name in the local Slavic languages gave rise to the term that geologists later adopted for this type of terrain. Because the Kras region was studied so closely, its name became the standard label for the whole family of landforms it displays.