Particularly in local newspapers and frequently in the national press it is being announced in recent years that
new landslides are being experienced around Konya Plains. It is being reported that after most of the said
incidents, geographical formations are established named as “doline” having a circular shape and in the center of
which it takes place a lake. The issue of dolines is a subject being followed-up closely by the Turkish
geographical community since a long time and about which almost everybody has some knowledge more or less.

The term doline 2 is being used conceptually in a misnaming way in Turkey as the common name of all the
karstic collapse formations. In fact, the name was derived from the pure Turkish verb of “opmak”, meaning of
which covers all the geographical formations established as result of a collapse. However, in our day, karstic
collapse structures consist of many different types, thus, named under various titles in the international
community. By its meaning used in Turkey doline, can be defined as, “circular shapes formed when it collapses
some time later and it is eliminated the vacancy established when the underground waters present in lands where
decomposable rockmasses take place in, decompose the rockmasses and move them away.”

Dolines can be seen almost in every part of Turkey which is a part of the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt. However,
these interesting geographical formations are seen mostly in the region named “Obruk Platosu” (“Doline
Plateau”) in the North of Konya Plains. The subject of the article is the causes of the doline formations in
increasing numbers in recent years in proximity of Konya Plains and the risks which could arise in the future.

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