Abstract
Puerto Rico, in addition to numerous associated smaller islands and cays, forms a complex archipelago exhibiting a wide range of coastal geomorphologies influenced by the interaction of regional tectonics, lithology and sea level fluctuations. Coastal landforms in this setting also display the influences of multiple karst and pseudokarst processes. Expressions of coastal karst in this setting include caves formed by littoral erosion (sea caves), cliff retreat (talus caves and fissure caves) dissolution from processes associated with a freshwater lens (flank margin caves), coastal karren and dissolution pipes. The effects of a combination of Quaternary glacioeustatics and tectonic uplift are illustrated by multiple distinct cave horizons, or discrete elevations associated with past sea-level stillstands, ranging from 0 to more than 40 m above mean sea level (msl). While systematic research into the speleogenesis, biospeleology and archaeology of coastal caves and karst of the Puerto Rican islands has historically been sporadic in its geographic coverage and limited in its scope, recent efforts focusing on these fascinating landforms have revealed an expansive inventory of over 400 coastal cave sites to date with significant modern shoreline and paleoshoreline karst areas remaining to be studied.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alegria RE (1983) Ball courts and ceremonial plazas in the West Indies. Yale University Publications in Anthropology 79, pp 1–185
Aron JM (1973) Geology and mineral resources of isla de mona and monito islands: an assessment of their natural and historical resources. Environmental Quality Board, San Juan, PR, 2: B1–B7
Bawiec WJ (1999) Geochemistry, geophysics, mineral occurrences and mineral resource assessment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey open file online report 98–038. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1998/of98-038
Beach DK, Trumbull JVA (1981) Marine geologic map of the Puerto Rico insular shelf, Caja de Muertos area. U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Investigations Series; I-1265, map
Beck BF (1974) Geology and hydrology of the El Convento Cave-Spring System, southwestern Puerto Rico. Int J Speleol 6:93–107
Briggs RP, Seiders VM (1972) Geological Map of the Isla de Mona Quadrangle, Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geological Investigations, Map I-718
Dávila O (1988) Importancia arqueológica de la Cueva del Indio, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Departmento de Recursos Naturales, Area de Investigaciones Científicas, Divisíon de Asesoramiento Técnico, San Juan
Dávila O (1991) Cueva de las Caracoles, un sitio preceramico de la Isla de Mona, XVII Simposia de los recursos naturales, 13 y 14 de Noviembre de 1991, pp 87–104
Diaz E, Lilyestrom CG (2010) Puerto Rico coastal and estuarine land conservation plan. Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), 31 p. http://www.DNRA.gobierno.pr
Dubelaar CN (1995) Recent rock art research in the Caribbean islands, a survey. In: Proceedings of the international association of Caribbean archaeologists, vol 16, pp 399–443
Frank E (1998) History of the guano mining industry, Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. Nat Speleol Soc J Cave Karst Stud 60(2):121–125
Frank EF, Wicks C, Mylroie J, Troester J, Alexander EC, Carew JL (1998a) Geology of Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. J Cave Karst Stud 60(2):69–72
Frank EF, Mylroie J, Troester J, Alexander EC, Carew JL (1998b) Karst development and speleologenesis, Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. J Cave Karst Stud 60(2):73–83
Garrison LE (1969) Structural geology of the Muertos insular shelf, Puerto Rico, USGS open file report. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC, 9 p
Gestel J, Mann P, Grindlay NR, Dolan JF (1999) Three-phase tectonic evolution of the northern margin of Puerto Rico as inferred from integrated seismic reflection, well and outcrop data. Mar Geol 1616:257–286
Gile PL, Carrero JO (1918) Bat Guanos of Porto Rico and their fertilizer value. Agr Expt Stat Bull 25, 66p
Gonzalez LA, Ruiz HA, Taggart BE, Budd AF, Monell V (1997) Geology of Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. In: Vacher HL, Quinn TM (eds) Geology and hydrogeology of carbonate islands, developments in sedimentology. Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, pp 327–358
Guisti EV (1978) Hydrogeology of Karst in Puerto Rico. Geological Society Professional Paper #1012, United States Geological Survey, 65 p
Hayward MH, Atkinson L, Cinquino MA (eds) (2009) Rock art of the Caribbean. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 285 p
Heatwole H, Levins R, Byer MD (1981) Biogeography of the Puerto Rico bank. Atoll Research Bulletin no.251, 55 p
Hernandez Santana JR, Barbosa JS, Gonzalez RR (2002) Islas de Puerto Rico y de Culebra: Regularidades geomofoligicas de su relieve de costera y submarino. Investigaciones Geograficas, Boletin del Instituto Geografia (47):7–19
Hubbard DK, Burke RB, Gill IP, Ramirez WR, Sherman C (2008) Coral-reef geology: Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In: Coral reefs of the world, vol I. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 263–302
Kambesis PN (2007) Caves of the Cueva del Indios natural reserve, Puerto Rico. Nat Speleol Soc News 65(10):13–18
Kambesis PN, Lace MJ (2009) Caves of Isla de Mona. In: Palmer AN, Palmer M (eds) Caves and Karst of the USA. National Speleological Society, Huntsville, pp 343–345
Kaye CE (1957) Notes on the structural geology of Puerto Rico. Geol Soc Am Bull 68:103–118
Kaye CE (1959a) Shoreline features and Quaternary shoreline changes, Puerto Rico. Geological Society Professional Paper #317-B, United States Geological Survey, 140 p
Kaye CE (1959b) Geology of Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico and Notes on the Mona Passage, Geological Society Professional Paper #317-C, United States Geological Survey, 178 p
Lace MJ (2008) Coastal cave development in Puerto Rico. J Coast Res 24(2):508–518
Lace MJ (2012) Anthropogenic use, modification and preservation of coastal cave resources in Puerto Rico. J Island Coast Archaeol 7(3):378–403
Lace MJ, Kambesis PN (2009) Coastal speleogenesis in Puerto Rico. In: White WB (ed) Proceedings of the 15th international congress of speleology, vol I. National Speleological Society, pp 509–515
Lugo AE, Castro LM, Vale A, del Mar Lopez T, Prieto EH, Martino AG, Puente-Rolon AR, Tossas AG, McFarlane DA, Miller T, Rodriquez A, Lundberg J, Thomlinson J, Colon J, Schellekens JH, Ramos O, Helmer E (2001) Puerto Rican karst – a vital resource. USDA and Forest Service general technical report WO-65, 100 p
Lundberg J, Taggart BE (2007) Dissolution pipes in northern Puerto Rico: an exhumed paleokarst. Carbonates Evaporites 10(2):171–283
Mann P (2005) Active tectonics and seismic hazards of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and offshore areas, GSA bulletin no. 385. Geological Society of America, Boulder, 299 p
Mattson PH (1960) Geology of the Mayaguez Area, Puerto Rico. Geol Soc Am Bull 71:319–362
Miller TE (2004) Structural control on cave development in Cretaceous Limestone, Southern Puerto Rico. Caribb J Sci 40(2):276–280
Miller TE, Kambesis PN (2009) Puerto Rico. In: Palmer AN, Palmer MV (eds) Caves and Karst of the USA. National Speleological Society, Huntsville, pp 332–338
Monroe WH (1960) Sinkholes and towers in the karst area of north-central Puerto Rico. In: Geology of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Pacific Islands and Antarctica, Geological Survey Research – short papers in the geological sciences, USGS: B356–360
Monroe WH (1968) High level Quaternary beach deposits in northwestern Puerto Rico. USGS Geol Sur Prof Pap 600-D:140–142
Monroe WH (1974) Karst Landforms of Puerto Rico. Geological Survey Professional Paper #899, United States Geological Survey, 69 p
Morelock J, Ramirez-Martinez WR, Barreto M (2010) Puerto Rico. In: Bird EC (ed) Encyclopedia of the World’s coastal landforms. Springer, Dordrecht/ Heidelberg, pp 289–294
Mylroie JE, Mylroie JR (2007) Development of the carbonate island karst model. J Cave Karst Stud 69:59–75
Petrae G (ed) (1995) Barge Morris J. Berman Spill: NOAA’s scientific response. HAZMAT report 95–10. Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration , Seattle, 63 p
Porter BL (2010) An application and refinement of the karst disturbance index through evaluating variability in island karst disturbance in Puerto Rico. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University, 168 p
Reid JA, Plumley PW, Schellekens JA (1991) Paleomagnetic evidence for late Miocene counterclockwise rotation of north coast carbonate sequences, Puerto Rico. Geophys Lett 18:565–568
Renken RA, Ward WC, Gill IP, Gomez-Gomez F, Rodriguez-Martinez J et al. (2002) Geology and hydrogeology of the Caribbean Islands aquifer system, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper #1419, 148 p
Rodríguez-Durán A (2009) Bat assemblages in the West Indies: the role of caves. In: Fleming TH, Racey P (eds) Island bats: evolution, ecology, and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 265–280
Rodriguez Ramos R (2010) Rethinking Puerto Rican precolonial history. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 267 p
Rodriguez RW, Trumbull JV, Dillon WP (1977) Marine Geologic map of the Isla de Mona area, Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey, Misc. Investigations Series: I-1063 map
Roe PG, Hayward MH (2008) Rocks of ages: petroglyphs, pictographs and identity in Puerto Rico. In: Flore DF, Sanz ID, May SK (eds) Archaeologies of art: time, place, identity. Left Coast Press, Inc, Walnut Creek, pp 51–76
Rouse I (1992) The Tainos: rise and decline of the people who greeted Columbus. Yale University Press, New Haven
Seiders VM, Briggs RP, Glover L (1972) Geology of Isla Desecheo, Puerto Rico, with notes on the great southern Puerto Rico fault zone and Quaternary stillstands of the sea. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper #739, 22 p
Siegel P (ed) (1989) Early ceramic population lifeways and adaptive strategies in the Caribbean. BAR International series: 506, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa
ten Brink US, Marshak S, Granja-Bruna JL (2009) Bivergent thrust wedges surrounding oceanic island arcs: insight from observations and sandbox models of the northeastern Caribbean plate, GSA bulletin no. 121. Geological Society of America, Boulder, pp 1522–1536
Trumball JVA, Garrison LE (1973) Geology of a system of submarine canyons south of Puerto Rico. US Geol Sur J Res 1(3):293–299
USFWS (2007) Vieques National wildlife refuge, comprehensive conservation plan and environmental impact statement. United States Department of the Interior – Fish and Wildlife Service, 353 p
USGS (1982) Isla de Vieques, PR, 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, map scale 1:30,000 U.S. Department of the Interior
USN (2001) Description of current conditions report: naval Atlantic fleet weapons training facility Vieques, Puerto Rico. Report to Department of the Navy, Atlantic Division, Facilities Engineering Command, CTO-031
Wadsworth H (1973) The historical resources of Mona Island. In: Junta de Calidad Ambiental de Puerto Rico, Isla Mona, vol 2, appendix N: 1–37
Weaver PL, Schwagerl JJ (2009) U.S. fish and wildlife refuges and other nearby reserves in Southwestern Puerto Rico. USDA, Institute of International Tropical Forestry general technical report, IITF-40. 122 p
Wetmore A (1918) The birds of Desecheo Island, Porto Rico. The Auk 35(3):333–340
Wicks C, Troester J (1998) Groundwater Geochemistry of Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. Nat Speleol Soc J Cave Karst Stud 60(2):107–114
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lace, M.J. (2013). Coastal Caves and Karst of the Puerto Rican Islands. In: Lace, M., Mylroie, J. (eds) Coastal Karst Landforms. Coastal Research Library, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5016-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5016-6_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-5015-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-5016-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)