Abstract
Slovenský raj is a dissected highland in the Inner Western Carpathians, at the border of central and east Slovakia. Geologically it is predominantly built of limestones and dolomites of Triassic age, which have supported the development of karst phenomena. Characteristic landforms include remnants of karst plateaus, with uvalas and dolines, incised valleys of Hnilec and Hornád rivers, numerous gorges deeply cut into limestone bedrock, with impressive waterfalls, slot canyon reaches and bedrock channels. The Dobšiná Ice Cave in the southern part of the region is a large ice-filled cavern, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage property. The history of karst relief evolution may be traced back to the beginning of the Cenozoic, with some landforms inherited from the times prior to the Late Eocene marine transgression. However, the origin of spectacular gorges is much younger and related to the Pliocene–Quaternary uplift, relative base-level lowering and headward erosion in the tributary valleys.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Milan Lehotský for providing an opportunity to join this publication project and supplying relevant literature. Tymoteusz Sawiński kindly let us use the photograph of ice monolith in the Dobšiná Ice Cave. Participation of Milena Różycka in fieldwork, which was carried out in August 2019, is also acknowledged.
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Migoń, P., Porębna, W., Jancewicz, K. (2022). Slovenský Raj—The Land of Karst Plateaus, Gorges and Waterfalls. In: Lehotský, M., Boltižiar, M. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Slovakia. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89293-7_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89293-7_18
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