Groundwater resources in the karst mountainous area in Southwest Chain

There is a vast area covered continuoursly by carbonite in Southwest China, where it is very rich for groundwater resources and exists large zones lack of water and regions of desert rock because of the uneven distribution of groundwater. In the present survey and valuation the area is divided into three parts: exposed karst region in upwarped distric, karst region controlled by folded structures near depressed belts and blinded karst region in fault basins. Besides lithological characters and geological structures, the karst development and groundwater in the area are affected by neotectonic movement and fossil karst. The karst groundwater stores in the shallow karst zones below the surface, the middle karst zones controlled by geological structures and the deep zones of fossil karst. The lay-like karst aquifer formed by some special strata and fossil karst are very important in the groundwater exploitation in this area.