engleski

Relation between karst and fluviokarst relief on the Slunj plateau (Croatia)

The Slunj plateau is part of the shallow Kordun karst. It extends from the westernmost part of river Una towards the northwest to the confluence of the Slunjčica and Korana, on the average height of 300 - 350 m of above sea level. It is 40 km long, and averagely about 10 km wide. A larger part of the plateau built of Jurassic and Cretaceous carbonate rocks has characeristics of the karst relief with numerous dolines. On the smaller part built of the Paleozoic and Tertiary clastic sediments and Triassic dolomites a surface fluvial network has been developed. The water streams emerging on that basis regularly dissappear underground on the contact whit permeable rocks. During geomorphological evolution of this terrain the area which is being drained on surface was reduced, and the traces were left in the form of blind and dry (fossil) valleys. The water streams moved from surface to the underground where they formed the underground channels, i. e. speleological objects. This work analyses the correlation between the formation processes of (today fossil) valleys and cave channels on three examples: 1) Cave system Matešićeva špilja - Popovačka špilja, 2) Ponor pod Kremenom cave and Barićeve špilje, 3) Cave system Varićakova - Panjkova špilja.

karst geomorphology; fluviokarst; contact karst; Slunj plateau; Croatia

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