Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone. Many karst regions display distinctive surface features such as sinkholes.

Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by ground water traversing through them. As the rock dissolves, voids develop underground creating a flow of water and soil into them. If there is not enough support for the land above the voids then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur.