Tower karst are tall rock structures made up of soluble rock such as limestone. Tower karst forms as near-vertical joints and fractures are eroded downward by solution, leaving parts of a previously coherent rock mass isolated from each other. Tower karst is most common in tropical regions, although it may form in other climates as well.
Examples include Khao Phing Kan, also known as James Bond Island, in Thailand, and Cat Ba Island in Vietnam.
Karst (/kɑːrst/) is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. There is some evidence that karst may occur in more weathering-resistant rocks such as quartzite given the right conditions.
Subterranean drainage may limit surface water, with few if any rivers or lakes. In regions where the dissolved bedrock is covered (perhaps by debris) or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata, distinctive karst features may occur only at subsurface levels and can be totally missing above ground.
A mogote (/məˈɡoʊti/) is a generally isolated, steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form.
Khao Phing Kan (Thai: เขาพิงกัน, pronounced [kʰǎw pʰīŋ kān]) or Ko Khao Phing Kan (เกาะเขาพิงกัน, [kɔ̀ʔ kʰǎw pʰīŋ kān]), commonly known in English as James Bond Island, is an island in Thailand, in Phang Nga Bay northeast of Phuket. About 40 metres (130 ft) from the shores of Khao Phing Kan lies a 20-metre (66 ft) tall islet called Ko Ta Pu (เกาะตาปู, [kɔ̀ʔ tāː pūː]) or Ko Tapu (เกาะตะปู, [kɔ̀ʔ tā.pūː]).
The islands are limestone karst towers and are a part of Ao Phang Nga National Park. Since 1974, when they were featured in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, Khao Phing Kan and Ko Ta Pu – both separately and collectively – have been popularly called James Bond Island.