Limestone Klippen Belt—Atypical Landforms in Flysch Uplands

Abstract

AbstractThe Pieniny Klippen Belt of the Western Carpathians is a peculiar tectonic and geomorphological zone that is only a few km wide, but up to 600 km long. It separates the External Western Carpathians from the Central Western Carpathians. The Pieniny Klippen Belt is exceptional by its picturesque rugged landscape, being formed by numerous, and often isolated cliffy hills called “klippen” surrounded by a smooth relief composing the “klippen mantle”. The majority of klippen is composed of comparatively hard, Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous limestones, surrounded by softer in places Lower Jurassic, but mostly Upper Cretaceous to Middle Eocene shales, marls and flysch deposits. In these geological settings, the selective erosion created a very contrasting mosaic of landforms in a relatively small area. In the Pieniny Mts., it has the form of a mountain range with relatively high rock peaks and deep river gorges. The Middle Ages enriched some klippen with castles, which have been preserved to the present, especially in the form of mysterious ruins. All these attributes make the Pieniny Klippen Belt one of the most valuable and interesting landforms in Slovakia, with significant geotouristic potential.KeywordsWestern CarpathiansPieniny Klippen BeltTectonic mélangeLimestone klippenRock controlSelective erosion