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Long-Term Geomorphological History of the Czech Republic

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Landscapes and Landforms of the Czech Republic

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

Abstract

Consisting of two distinct geotectonic domains (Bohemian Massif and Western Carpathians), the territory of the Czech Republic reveals exceptionally high diversity of landforms. Major geomorphological features of the Czech Republic are the result of Late Paleozoic Variscan orogenetic processes, Late Cretaceous marine transgression , Alpine tectonics since the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic neovolcanic processes . Geomorphological history of the Bohemian Massif can be traced back to the late Permian (~260 Ma) but its major landforms (e.g. basic planation surfaces and river valleys) emerged after the exhumation of Cretaceous deposits during the Paleogene and Neogene. Gross land surface of the Western Carpathians is much younger and its subaerial evolution spans the last ~15 Ma since the Miocene. Quaternary landscape evolution of the country was dictated by to this day continuing uplift of the majority of its area and changing climatic pattern resulting in the evolution of a staircase of river terraces , continental and mountain glaciation, loess accumulation and the development of various periglacial landforms . Holocene landscape evolution is under the dominance of fluvial and slope processes, which have been strongly modified by human activity since the Atlantic chronozone and especially the Bronze Age .

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Pánek & Veronika Kapustová

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  1. Tomáš Pánek
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  2. Veronika Kapustová
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Correspondence to Tomáš Pánek .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Geography and, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Moravskoslezsky, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Pánek

  2. Department of Physical Geography and, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

    Jan Hradecký

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Pánek, T., Kapustová, V. (2016). Long-Term Geomorphological History of the Czech Republic. In: Pánek, T., Hradecký, J. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of the Czech Republic. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27537-6_4

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