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Karst Feature Inventory Points

Southeastern Minnesota is part of the Upper Mississippi Valley Karst that includes southwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Iowa. In Minnesota, surface karst features (including but not restricted to sinkholes, caves, stream sinks, and karst springs) are observed to primarily occur where 50 feet or less of unconsolidated material overlies Paleozoic carbonate bedrock, the St. Peter Sandstone, or the Mesoproterozoic Hinckley Sandstone. <br/><br/>The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Geological Survey have been mapping karst features since the early 1980s. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources became involved in the process in the 1990s and is now responsible for maintaining the karst feature inventory and continuing mapping. The Karst Features Inventory (KFI), formerly known as the Karst Features Database, contains both reported and field verified karst feature locations and additional remarks, measurements, and other historical data for features where available.

Additional Info

Field Value
dsAccessConst None
dsCurrentRef Time Period of Content date indicates the date which the user can be confident of accuracy and completeness of the dataset.
dsMetadataUrl https://resources.gisdata.mn.gov/pub/gdrs/data/pub/us_mn_state_dnr/geos_karst_feature_inventory_pts/metadata/metadata.html
dsModifiedDate 2025-04-25 01:02:20
dsOriginator University of Minnesota; Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
dsPeriodOfContent 4/24/2025
dsPurpose This product can be used as a standalone product or can be used in conjunction with the Minnesota Regions Prone to Surface Karst Feature Development for planning purposes. This GIS coverage can be used to document the occurrence and distribution of sinkholes and other surface karst features for planning, environmental and risk management, hazard mitigation, scientific, and other purposes. Karst processes provide a direct, very rapid exchange between surface and ground waters and significantly increase groundwater contamination risk from surface pollutants.

Field-verified sinkholes are direct evidence that karst processes are active on both the surface and subsurface. However, the absence of sinkholes on the land surface does not imply that karst conditions are absent in the subsurface. Subsurface karst conditions also occur in carbonate rock in areas where there is more than 50 feet of unconsolidated material over bedrock but those conditions rarely lead to karst surface feature development in Minnesota.

This dataset provides an inventory of karst features. It has many uses, including 1) to look for large-scale patterns in the sinkhole distribution, 2) to conduct statistical tests of hypotheses about the formation of sinkholes, 3) to create web-accessible management tools for land-use managers and planners, and 4) to deliver geomorphic and hydrogeological criteria for making scientifically valid land-use policies and decisions in karst areas of southeastern Minnesota.
gdrsDsGuid {64ec2b70-635d-43d2-b6ed-ddca3b46a88c}
spatial {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-97.23, 43.5],[-97.23, 49.37], [-89.53, 49.37], [-89.53, 43.5], [-97.23, 43.5]]]}

Dataset extent

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