Karst was originally the name of the limestone plateau on the Istrian Peninsula in the northwest of Yugoslavia, where typical karst landform was developed. The term karst is the name for such landform.

Karst landform refers to the various landforms formed by water dissolution and the accompanying mechanical force of soluble rocks, including clint, karren, stone forest, peak forest, ponor, doline, karst depression, cave, and underground river, etc. In the karst landform development areas, there are often widespread strange peaks, relatively lacking surface water but well-developed underground river system. Karst landform is widely distributed in Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan, etc. in China, forming one of the most typical areas of karst landform development in the world.

Karst is a unique geomorphological phenomenon in the distribution area of carbonate rocks. China has the earliest description and research on karst landform. We can trace the records back to Jin Dynasty, especially detailed description in Xu Xiake’s Travels written by Xu Hongzu (1586 to 1641) in Ming Dynasty.