Lime Creek Karst

GLACIALLY-INFLUENCED SEDIMENT CYCLES IN THE LIME CREEK KARST, EAGLE COUNTY, COLORADO... 

The Lime Creek drainage is an alpine karst system developed in Mississippian Leadville Limestone on the west slope of the Sawatch Range, approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Aspen, Colorado (Fig. 1). The mapped area is approximately 23 km (9 mi ), at elevations between 2,740 and 3,350 m (9,000 to 11,000 ft). The area is bounded by tributary valleys of the Fryingpan River on the north, south, and and west. The eastern extent of the study area is defined by uplifted and exposed Precambrian granite, gneiss, and schist (Fig. 2). 

Glacial ice may have been responsible for removing some of the rock that overlies the Leadville Limestone, exposing the limestone to karstification. As discussed previously, glacial ice also transported igneous and metamorphic material from exposed Precambrian bedrock westward, onto the limestone. Glacial effects on cave sedimentation and karst development vary throughout Lime Creek. 

The sedimentary maps were developed using standard cave mapping techniques and techniques generally used for mapping unconsolidated surface deposits. With virtually no disturbance to the deposits in the cave, it was possible to reconstruct the sedimentary record of the caves of Lime Creek. The cave sediment record made it possible to determine the speleogenesis of the caves and to evaluate the effects of glaciation on karst development. 

Burger, P.A., 1998, Alpine Karst Development and Speleogenesis in the Lime Creek Hydrologic System, Eagle County, Colorado [Master s thesis], Colorado School of Mines, 59 p. 

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