INSPIRE - Natural geomorphological entity - karst entities in Wallonia (BE)

This INSPIRE data layer is an inventory of karst sites in the Atlas of Walloon Karst. This INSPIRE compliant data layer is derived from the source data "Atlas du karst wallon - Sites karstiques surfaciques". In Wallonia, 30% of the subsoil is made up of soluble carbonate rocks (limestone, dolomite, chalk, gypsum, etc.). By infiltrating these rocks, runoff generates a dissolution of these rocks, which gives rise to particular phenomena both underground (caves, underground rivers) and on the surface (chantoirs, sinkholes, collapses, cavities, etc.). These phenomena are called "karstic". By extension, the word "karst" also refers to a limestone region, or more broadly a region of soluble rocks whose landscape is marked by the effects of dissolution. We therefore speak of "rock", "region" or "landscape" karst. The Atlas of Walloon Karst is the reference document for karst phenomena in Wallonia. This data layer covers all karst sites, both underground and above ground. These data concern phenomena with a ground right-of-way whose diameter exceeds 30m. In this case, the representation by a single dot is not sufficient and does not render the impact that this site may have on the local environment. For these sites, a polygon resuming the contour of the phenomenon is therefore added with the label of the site in its center. Particular karst phenomena illustrating the same phenomenon can be represented by the same polygon. These envelope curves mainly concern depressions (such as sinkholes) as well as paleokarst and abannets (former pockets of dissolution of carbonate rock, filled with loose ground partly evacuated and extracted by humans). The associated winning table includes an identifier for each phenomenon (IGN card number + unique site number), the name and qualifier of the site, the municipality in which the phenomenon is located, fields to differentiate the site according to their nature and a hyperlink to the site data sheet. The source data layer is continuously updated by the Walloon Commission for the Study and Protection of Underground Sites (CWEPSS) with the help of many collaborators. It is managed by the Geological Service of Wallonia (SPW - Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment - Department of Environment and Water - Directorate of Industrial, Geological and Mining Risks).