Lapies
Also called: Karren · Topic: Landforms and their Evolution: Rivers, Groundwater, Glaciers, Waves and Wind · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Landforms and their Evolution"
Meaning
Lapies are rough limestone surfaces covered with grooves, ridges and sharp pinnacles. They form in karst topography, which is a limestone landscape shaped mainly by solution (rock dissolving in water). Rainwater takes in carbon dioxide and becomes a weak acid. It dissolves the rock unevenly along parallel joints (cracks), so the cracks widen into grooves and ridges remain between them. Over time, a field of lapies may wear down into a smooth limestone pavement. Another name for lapies is karren.
Example
The Burren in County Clare, Ireland, is a well-known limestone pavement. Its bare rock is cut into blocks by deep, dissolved grooves along the joints.
Don't confuse with
- Uvala: an uvala is a long trench formed when sinkholes join together. Lapies are grooves and ridges on the rock surface.
- Yardang: a yardang is a ridge carved by wind in deserts. Lapies are made by water dissolving limestone.