Evaporite dissolution and development of karst features on the rolling plains of the texas panhandle

Abstract

AbstractMore than 400 dolines, consisting of collapse sinkholes and closed depressions, occur in Hall and Briscoe Counties, Texas. Of these, at least 36 sinkholes and two depressions formed between 1940 and 1972. Collapse sinks are typically circular and range up to 100 m in diameter and 15 m in depth. Closed depressions are irregularly‐shaped, internally‐drained depressions up to 2.4 km in length. Surface fractures up to 1.5 km in length are associated with certain closed depressions.Karst features are forming as a result of intrastratal dissolution of Upper Permian evaporites, primarily halite and secondarily gypsum. Salt dissolution and overburden collapse are evident from geophysical log cross‐sections and occur at depths ranging from 195 to 275 m. Dissolution is progressing down dip and mean dissolution rates for salt beds in the Hall County area range from 0.29 to 7.73 cm/yr.The valley of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River is an area of ground‐water discharge for flow systems moving eastward from topographically high areas of the Rolling Plains and from the eastern rim of the High Plains. Halite beds in contact with these waters undergo dissolution. Salt springs and brine seeps, some associated with sinkholes and depressions, occur in the discharge area and indicate that dissolution is an ongoing process.