Extensive karst in quartzose rocks has been reported from several tropical cratons but has been overlooked in widely accepted models of tropical landscape evolution. The siliceous sedimentary rocks in the East Kimberley region of northwestern Australia display many large-scale karst features like those found in limestones. The sandstone terrain of the East Kimberleys has been eroded under a tropical savanna climate from highly quartzose sediments which suffered intense antecedent leaching of silica. The leaching can be attributed to long-lasting tropical climates acting on a highly stable cratonic surface. Diverse topography on the sandstones reflects marked contrasts in mass strength and modes of failure that were determined primarily by porosities at the onset of weathering in the Late Mesozoic or Early Tertiary.
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R. W. Young (1987) studied this question.
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