A type of topography that is formed on limestone, gypsum, and other rocks by dissolution, and that is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage. Etymol. German, from the Yugoslavian territory Krs; type locality, a limestone plateau in the Dinaric Alps of northwestern Yugoslavia and northeastern Italy. First published on a topographic map, Ducatus Carnioliae, in 1774. Adj. karstic.