Well, that is really quite simple (as long as you don't look any deeper than this explanation.
). Make pretend that you have a nice biiiig slab of limestone. And then, growing over that limestone, you have a whole bunch of vegetation! And also let's say that it's pouring rain. Now, when the vegetation decays, it gives off CO2 gas. And when the water enters the soil, where the vegetation has been decomposing, it meets up with the CO2 gas (yes, the CO2 actually does hang out in the soil after it has formed). The water and the gas combine, and suddenly you have CARBONIC ACID! It erodes into your nice block of limestone and creates those holes (called dolines, if you want to be scientific about it 
). It creates more and more of them, and one day you end up with terrain that looks like this: 
Or this:
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Here's an interesting fact about cockpit country: It's great for slave rebellions, revolutionaries, and resistance groups. As you might guess by looking at the images above, it would be very easy to get lost in such a landscape. Thus, military forces who don't know the area can stumble around cluelessly or be ambushed, whereas locals who know the area are familiar with the secret hiding places and the best routes to take. There can also be caves in various places which make good areas for concealing yourself, since lots of caves are created through the exact same chemical process as cockpit country is. In short, cockpit country is the ideal staging point for my secret--but I've said too much.
