Middle–Late Jurassic pelagic microfacies and depositional evolution at the Alpine Tethys margin: The Niedzica-Podmajerz section, Pieniny Klippen Belt, Poland

The Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) in the Western Carpathian branch of the Alpine-Carpathian-Dinaridic orogenic system is considered to be the surficial representation of the Alpine-Tethys suture. It is a few kilometres wide and about 600 km long unit between the Outer Western Carpathians and Central Western Carpathians and does not show typical characteristics of a suture (Plašienka et al., 1997; Schmid et al., 2008). In fact, the structural relationship between the PKB and surrounding units is ambiguous. The PKB is a sub-vertical unit with mainly shallow marine limestone and flysch deposits in a conspicuous “block-in-matrix” structure (Plašienka et al., 1997). This structure has been explained mainly by two theories: sedimentary structures formed by gravity sliding; and post-sedimentation tectonic shearing due to strike-slip movement affecting the heterolithic composition of the unit (Plašienka et al., 2012; Golonka et al., 2015). The presence of “exotic” sediments in the PKB and the southernmost units of the OWC along with their shallow marine deposition environment led to the theory proposing the presence of a continental sliver called the Czorsztyn Ridge in the Alpine Tethys, dividing it into two oceanic/marine basins: the Magura Ocean to the north and the Vahic Ocean to the south (Plašienka, 2018).A passive seismic experiment was designed and installed to provide insight into the deep lithospheric structure across the PKB, testing the presence of a tectonic suture along with relaminated remnants of the Czorsztyn Ridge, and potential remnants of subducted or underthrusted lithosphere. Eighteen broadband stations have been deployed in a ~N-S transect under the umbrella of the AdriaArray initiative, cutting across the PKB and the Neotethian Meliata suture to the south. The data obtained during up to three years will complement 10 other permanent and temporary broadband stations, forming an approximate 250 km long profile and will be primarily used to perform receiver function analysis and to build structural and velocity models of the lithosphere (i.e., Schiffer, 2014; Schiffer et al., 2023) beneath the Western Carpathians.Gravity and magnetic data will be used to construct a 3-D model of the subsurface complementing the seismic experiment. Preliminary assessment of the data has shown that the PKB is represented by an anomaly reaching at least until the 15 kms depth and, therefore, is a deep-seated feature. It leads to a tentative conclusion that the PKB’s “block-in-matrix” structure is rather of tectonic origin. The qualitative analysis of potential field data reveals the presence of three major elements in the deep basement of the northern Carpathians corresponding to the ALCAPA, European Platform, and a previously undefined wedge-shaped block under the Eastern Carpathians. The PKB follows the boundary between the ALCAPA and the remaining two domains.

The authors interpret the structure of the Central Carpathian-North European plates suture zone in Poland, where three main Carpathian tectonic units: the Central Carpathian, Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) and Outer Carpathian are present. In general, the PKB follows this zone. Several deep bore-holes were drilled in this region and the seismic lines were tied to bore-hole data and geological maps. The Polish PKB belongs to the complex geological structure stretching from Vienna in Austria to Romania. The rocks included in the PKB tectonic components were deposited within the paleogeographic realm known as the Alpine Tethys, mainly during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times. Both strike-slip and thrust components occur within the Polish section of the PKB. The strongly tectonized, few kilometer wide PKB zone is limited by a flower structure marked by two major faults, linked to the strike-slip zone. These faults reach the North European Platform (part of the North European Plate).The flysch sequences, arranged into a series of north-vergent thrust-sheets, constitute the main component of the PKB in the survey zone. They contain olistoliths, which are mainly Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in age. The PKB tectonic components of different age, strike-slip, thrust as well as toe-thrusts and olistostromes are mixed together, giving the present-day mélange character of this belt, where individual units are hard to distinguish. Two olistostrome belts (mélange units) exist within the PKB structure. The seismic lines show the Central Carpathian Paleogene rocks covering the Paleozoic Central Carpathian Basement south of the PKB. The Subtatric covers the High-Tatric autochthonic and allochthone rocks. The Central Carpathian Plate is thrust over the North European Platform in the Podhale region. The allochthonous Outer Carpathians consist of several nappes (thrust-sheets) verging northward. They are thrust over each other and over the North European Platform which dips gently southward.

The authors interpret the structure of the Central Carpathian-North European plates suture zone in Poland, where three main Carpathian tectonic units: the Central Carpathian, Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) and Outer Carpathian are present. In general, the PKB follows this zone. Several deep bore-holes were drilled in this region and the seismic lines were tied to bore-hole data and geological maps. The Polish PKB belongs to the complex geological structure stretching from Vienna in Austria to Romania. The rocks included in the PKB tectonic components were deposited within the paleogeographic realm known as the Alpine Tethys, mainly during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times. Both strike-slip and thrust components occur within the Polish section of the PKB. The strongly tectonized, few kilometer wide PKB zone is limited by a flower structure marked by two major faults, linked to the strike-slip zone. These faults reach the North European Platform (part of the North European Plate). The flysch sequences, arranged into a series of north-vergent thrust-sheets, constitute the main component of the PKB in the survey zone. They contain olistoliths, which are mainly Jurassic-Early Cretaceous in age. The PKB tectonic components of different age, strike-slip, thrust as well as toe-thrusts and olistostromes are mixed together, giving the present-day melange character of this belt, where individual units are hard to distinguish. Two olistostrome belts (melange units) exist within the PKB structure. The seismic lines show the Central Carpathian Paleogene rocks covering the Paleozoic Central Carpathian Basement south of the PKB. The Subtatric covers the High-Tatric autochthonic and allochthone rocks. The Central Carpathian Plate is thrust over the North European Platform in the Podhale region. The allochthonous Outer Carpathians consist of several nappes (thrust-sheets) verging northward. They are thrust over each other and over the North European Platform which dips gently southward.

The area studied, known as the Małe (Little) Pieniny Mts., belongs to the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB), a suture zone that separates the Central Carpathians from the Outer Carpathian accretionary wedge. Along its northern boundary the PKB is separated from the Paleogene to Early Miocene flysch deposits of the Magura Nappe by a narrow, strongly deformed belt belonging to the Grajcarek tectonic Unit. This unit is composed of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleocene pelagic and flysch deposits. The Klippen units of the PKB are represented by Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous carbonate deposits overlain by Upper Cretaceous variegated marls and flysch deposits. We describe geological and biostratigraphic evidence concerning the palaeogeographic, stratigraphic and structural relationships between the Pieniny Klippen Belt and the Magura Nappe, that significantly modify previously held views on the evolution of the Małe Pieniny Mts. and the Polish sector of the PKB.

An interpretation of the deep structure of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in Poland is presented, utilizing a high-resolution deep seismic reflection survey. The studied profiles reach a depth of around 23 km. The seismic lines depict the structure and mutual relationships between the main domains analyzed—the Central Carpathians (CC), the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) and the Outer Carpathians. The seismic lines show the Central Carpathian Paleogene (CCP) sediments covering the Tatric units and overlying Krížna and Choč nappes of the CC south of the PKB. The entire nappe pile comprising the CC units is thrust over sedimentary rocks that probably derived from the European Plate, representing a mixture of autochthonous platform Paleozoic to Neogene sediments and slices of Outer Carpathian and PKB rocks. The older crystalline basement of the European Plate is suspected to be below these sedimentary rocks. The reflections below 20 km depth show a possible boundary between different crustal elements within this plate. The PKB is part a of 3–5 km wide flower structure, limited by fault zones that include faults cutting across sediments of the CCP and the Magura Nappe. The fault marking the southern limit of the PKB is particularly well visible in the seismic sections. The Albian–Lower Miocene flysch sequences, constituting the main components of the PKB, form north-vergent thrust-sheets. During the Albian to Miocene the PKB originated as an accretionary prism in front of the moving CC Plate, followed by plate rotation and strike-slip processes. The entire CC nappe pile is thrust over the Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic crystalline basement of the European Plate and probably slices of the PKP. The Outer Carpathians display an allochthonous character above the European Plate and comprise several north-verging imbricated nappes (thrust-sheets). The European plate dips gently southwards below the PKB and the CC Plate, cut by several deep-reaching faults.

This volume of 30 chapters authored by 107 geologists and geophysicists from Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the USA provides a comprehensive and understandable account of geology and hydrocarbon resources of the entire Carpathian system from northeastern Austria to southern Romania, including the Neogene foredeep, the foreland platform both in front and beneath the thrust belt, the Carpathian thrust belt, and the late and post orogenic intermontane basins. Principal chapters on regional geology are supplemented by thematic contributions on geodynamic reconstructions, regional geophysical investigations, hydrocarbon systems, and case studies of major oil and gas fields. To date, close to 7 billion barrels of oil and more than 53 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been produced from the entire Carpathian system. Additional new reserves may be found, especially at deeper structural levels below the Neogene foredeep and the thin-skinned Carpathian thrust belt. Seventeen chapters of Memoir 84 have been printed in full. The remaining chapters have been printed as abstracts only, with the full paper for all 30 chapters as .pdf files on the CD-ROM in the back of this publication. The publication is intended as a source of information to schools, governmental and private institutions, oil companies, and potential investors.

Recent receiver function results from a passive seismic experiment have provided new insights into the geodynamic evolution of the Western Carpathians, the eastern extension of the Alps, formed in part by the closure of the Alpine Tethys. The Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) represents this closure at the surface, characterised by a narrow, elongated geometry dividing the external fold-and-thrust belt of the Outer Western Carpathians and the Central Western Carpathians. Unlike typical sutures, the PKB lacks ophiolites or high-pressure metamorphic rocks, instead it consists of resistant limestone blocks within a matrix of non-resistant flysch deposits, forming a distinctive “block-in-matrix” structure. This configuration has traditionally been attributed to the hypothesized Czorsztyn ridge, an island-like feature within the Alpine Tethys, where limestone deposition has been thought to occur. The ridge is supposed to correspond to the Briançonnais unit in the Alps, though evidence for its existence remains tenuous.The current passive seismic experiment seeks to validate or refute the Czorsztyn ridge hypothesis. In May 2023, 18 broadband seismic stations were deployed along a north-south trending profile, under the umbrella of the Adria Array, complemented by 9 other permanent and temporary stations. This 27-station dense network enabled the extraction of receiver functions and the creation of Common Conversion Point (CCP) stack images to resolve the sub-surface geometry of the region.Preliminary findings challenge the Czorsztyn ridge model. No distinct continental crustal body – interpretable as the Czorsztyn ridge basement and separate from the northern European platform or ALPCAPA – is evident beneath the PKB. Instead, subsurface structures appear complex, showing similarity to those in the Vienna Basin, located between the Eastern Alps and the Western Carpathians. A blind detachment fault occurs in the deep basement of the Outer Western Carpathians and connects southward with mid-crustal detachments in the Central Western Carpathians. Furthermore, a 40 km wide gap in Moho signature of the receiver functions beneath the PKB may reflect the position of the suture at a lower crustal level. Additionally, the Steimberg Fault in the Vienna basin likely correlates with the PKB, as both exhibit a displacement with partly strike-slip kinematics. Continued data collection and analysis will refine these interpretations and advance the understanding of the tectonic evolution of Western Carpathians.

The dynamic geological features of the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) in southern Poland are nowadays a focal point of researchers as it is recognised as an active zone of crustal discontinuity. In the present study, we employed long-term analysis of ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurements (from 2004 to 2020) to probe the crustal deformation, strain rates, and rotational rates in the PKB unit and the surrounding region, i.e., Magura Nappe (MN) and Podhale Flysch (PF) units. Measured velocities from GNSS observables are modelled by the auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method to comprehend the long-term tectonic deformation. Our results showed that the ARIMA-modelled velocity varied from ~ 0.15 to ~ 8.86 mm/yr, indicating about 8.71 mm/yr difference along all units. Such differences suggest that crustal slip along the active thrusts and folds is the major factor causing regional deformation. The strain rates in PKB are also varying from the western to the eastern part. The rotational rates in PKB show a counterclockwise (CCW) pattern similar to the strain rates. These patterns suggesting that the PKB was rotated in the CCW direction with a large angle during the Miocene period. Finally, we analysed the seismicity for a period from 2004 to 2020 by using Bayesian moment tensor inversion and multivariate Bayesian inversion. The Bayesian inversion was applied based on bootstrapping chain analysis to figure out the earthquake mechanism using moment tensor inversion for the mainshock that occurred in Poland on 20 July 2018. The inversion results for the 2018 earthquake resolved a thrusting mechanism with nodal plane-1 having a strike of 346°, dip of 32°, and rake of 92° and a nodal plane-2 with a strike of 163°, dip of 58°, and rake of 89°. Since the seismicity in the Poland region has experienced less significant earthquakes in the last century, it is reasonable to attribute this lower seismic activity to the correspondingly low slip rates discerned through geodetic monitoring efforts.

The Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) represents a boundary zone between the Outer and Central Western Carpathians and is interpreted as a separate branch of the north-westernmost Tethyan Ocean (Pieniny Klippen Basin – PKBs). In whole PKBs history at least three phosphatic events took place: (i) Early Bajocian, (ii) Berriasian and (iii) Albian times. The several facies successions accumulated in subtidal/neritic shelf environments of the submarine swell (so-called Czorsztyn Ridge and its southeastern slope), while palaeogeographical orientation of this Czorsztyn Ridge was from NE to SW. These successions can be distinguished, from shallowest zone (Czorsztyn Succession) trough transitional zone (Niedzica and Czertezik successions) up to deepest one (Branisko and Pieniny successions) in the axial part of this basin.In the late Early Bajocian time (i), just after Czorsztyn Ridge originated by tectonic uplift, sedimentary features recorded condensation episode during start of crinoidal limestones sedimentation (even up to 150m in thickness). The base of the crinoidal limestones are very sharp and directly overlying, with stratigraphical hiatus (ca. 2Ma), the oxygen-depleted dark/black Fleckenkalk/Fleckenmergel-type deposits of Toarcian-lowermost Bajocian in age. This part of crinoidal limestones consists of phosphatic concretions pavements, large phosphatic macrooncoids (up to 8-10cm), light-greenish clasts of micritic limestones, pyrite concretions, and fossils as ammonites, brachiopods and bivalves. Phosphatic concretions (up to 6cm) occur in almost all PKB successions exclusively within lowermost part (first 1.0m above base) of crinoidal beds, which is isochronous event. On the other hand, very rapid change of sedimentation from oxygen-depleted environments (during Toarcian-earliest Bajocian) to carbonate sedimentation is record of rapid vertical tectonic uplift of the Czorsztyn Ridge and adjacent areas and may be also reflect palaeoceanographical changes after this tectonic movements and origin of upwelling currents, for which such condensation and phosphatic structures are typical. The second (ii), Berriasian episode of phosphatisation within PKBs has been connected with post-Tithonian time tectonic uplifting of the Czorsztyn Ridge and surroundings, including Niedzica Succession. The presence of phosphate-rich deposits (phosphorites and microbial phosphate macrooncoids) in this succession, which should be localized in a palinspastic reconstruction near shelf-edge slope boundary, supported idea of upwelling currents as well. In the PKBs this idea is additionally supported by Berriasian brachiopods/crinoids-rich beds of the Czorsztyn Succession and their distribution probably have also been controlled by the upwelling currents, where nutrient-rich oceanic water formed such conditions which caused the proliferation of benthos. The third (iii), Albian episode of phosphatisation of marly deposits on sea-floor occupied by the Czorsztyn Succession zone are represented by phosphatic: stromatolites, lithoclasts and microbialite-coatted bioclasts within beds of different thickness (a few cm up to dozen ones). Usually, these are on the base of Albian marls/marly limestones which covered erosional surfaces of older limestones with several fossil-karst phenomena originated as effect of at least two episodes of tectonic uplift and emersions of the Czorsztyn Ridge/Czorsztyn Succession zone.

The authors present results of the first high-resolution deep seismic reflection survey in the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) in Poland. This survey sheds new light on the matter of olistostromes and the mélange character of the PKB. The sedimentary mass-transport deposits represented by olistoliths and olistostromes manifest themselves by different petrophysical parameters of rocks (velocity, density and resistivity) and seismic attributes. Seismic attributes are very effective in the interpretation of the geology of complex mélanges. The authors used selected attributes: low-pass filter, energy, energy gradient, dip-steered median filter, Prewitt filter, Laplacian edge enhancing filter and square root of the energy gradient. These attributes emphasize changes of the seismic image inside mélange zones. The distinguished olistoliths are now inside imbricated thrust structures and they are tectonically rearranged. Polygenetic mélanges in the PKB originated as a result of sedimentary and tectonic processes. The PKB in the investigated area forms several north-vergent thrust sheets belonging to the Złatne and Hulina nappes. Both nappes contain large chaotic, non-reflective olistoliths as well as the smaller mainly high-reflective olistoliths. Olistoliths are arranged parallel to the flysch layering and thrusts. The results presented confirm the postulated two olistostrome belts within the PKB structure. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Polygenetic mélanges collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/polygenetic-melanges

Volcanic rocks in the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) of the Western Carpathians have been the focus of geologists for over a century (e.g. Uhlig, 1890; Małkowski, 1921). Miocene volcanism is most common in the PKB. However, there are infrequent occurrences of Cretaceous volcanic rocks. Several magmatic bodies of Cretaceous age have already been described in the PKB, including basalts at Hanigovce and Biała Woda, as well as peperites at Vršatec, and Velykyi Kamenets. The magmatic body in Vršatec occurs within the Upper Cretaceous marlstones of the Lalinok Formation, the age of which was previously determined to be younger than 100 Ma (Spišiak et al., 2011). Our new U-Pb zircon dating indicates the magmatic age to be ca. 80 Ma. This new age can be used as a benchmark for the forthcoming provenance studies of the surrounding clastic rocks in the PKB and the Outer Carpathians flysch.

The Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) and adjoining zones form a narrow, but lengthy belt that separates the Cretaceous nappe stack of the Central (Austroalpine) and the Cenozoic accretionary wedge of the External Western Carpathians (Flysch Belt). The PKB shares units and structures of both, in addition to the distinctive Oravic units, derived from a continental fragment in the Middle Penninic position. In map view, the northward-convex PKB consists of two branches—the western one striking roughly SW–NE and the eastern one oriented in the NW–SE direction. The western branch experienced a continuous NW–SE convergence and forward accretion of units derived from the foreland plate during the Late Cretaceous up to Oligocene. The developing accretionary wedge was supported by the backstop of the Central Carpathians. In contrast, the eastern branch originated by separation of PKB units and their dextral translation along the NE margin of the Central Carpathian block in the Late Eocene. During the Miocene reorganization of plate movements in the Carpathian area, the situation reversed. The eastern, formerly dextral transform margin was converted to the frontal backstop of the eastern part of the accretionary wedge. In contrast, the western, previously orthogonally convergent branch was affected by along-strike sinistral movements. Despite these considerable kinematic changes, the PKB remained fixed to both backstop edges and records deformation structures and associated sediments differentiated into several evolutionary stages.

Provenance of the detrital garnets and spinels from the Albian sediments of the Czorsztyn Unit (Pieniny Klippen Belt, Western Carpathians, Slovakia)According to earlier concepts, the Czorsztyn Unit (Oravic Superunit, Pieniny Klippen Belt, Western Carpathians) sedimented on the isolated Czorsztyn Swell which existed in the Middle Jurassic-Late Cretaceous time in the realm of the Outer Western Carpathians. This paper brings new data providing an alternative interpretation of its Cretaceous evolution. They are based on heavy mineral analysis of the Upper Aptian/Lower Albian sediments of the Czorsztyn Unit. They rest upon a karstified surface after a Hauterivian-Aptian emersion and are represented by condensed, red marly organodetritic limestones with some terrigenous admixture (Chmielowa Formation). The heavy mineral spectrum is dominated by spinels, followed by garnet, with lesser amounts of zircon, rutile and tourmaline. The composition of the majority of the detrital garnets shows that they were derived from primary HP/UHP parental rocks which were recrystallized under granulite and amphibolite facies conditions. The garnets were most probably derived directly from the magmatic and metamorphic rocks of the Oravic basement, as the high-pyrope garnets are known to be abundant in Mesozoic sediments all over the Outer Western Carpathians. The presence of spinels is surprising. According to their chemistry, they were mostly derived from mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORB) peridotites, supra-subduction zone peridotites (harzburgites) and transitional lherzolite/harzburgite types. Only a lesser amount of spinels was derived from volcanics of BABB composition (back-arc basin basalts). The presence of this ophiolitic detritus in the Czorsztyn Unit is difficult to explain. Ophiolitic detritus appeared in the Aptian/Albian time only in the units which were considered to be more distant, because they were situated at the boundary between the Central and the Outer Western Carpathians (Klape Unit, Tatric and Fatric domains). The hypothetical Exotic Ridge which represented an accretionary wedge in front of the overriding Western Carpathian internides was considered to be a source of the clastics. In previous paleogeographical reconstructions, the Czorsztyn Unit was situated north of the Pieniny Trough (considered to be one of the branches of the Penninic-Vahic Ocean). In the trough itself, the ophiolitic detritus appeared as late as in the Senonian and there was no way it could reach the Czorsztyn Swell which was considered to be an isolated elevation. The new results presented herein show that these reconstructions do not fit the obtained data and infer a possibility that the Czorsztyn sedimentary area was not isolated in the Cretaceous time and it was situated closer to the Central Carpathian units than previously thought. A new paleogeographical model of the evolution of the Pieniny Klippen Belt is presented in the paper: Oravic segment was derived from the Moldanubian Zone of the Bohemian Massif by the Middle Jurassic rifting which caused block tilting where most of the Oravic units were arranged north of the Czorsztyn Swell. The Oravic segment was situated in the lateral continuation of the Central and Inner Western Carpathians from which it was detached by later clockwise rotation. The Oravic segment was then laterally shifted in front of the Central Western Carpathians, together with remnants of the Meliatic suture zone which represented a source for the exotics to the Klape, Tatric, Fatric and Oravic units.

Late Cretaceous deformation of the Pieniny Klippen Belt, West Carpathians

The olistostromes formed in Northern Carpathians during the different stages of the development of flysch basins, from rift trough post-rift, orogenic to postorogenic stage. They are known from the Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene and Early Miocene flysch deposits of main tectonic units. Those units are the Skole, Subsilesian, Silesian, Dukla and Magura nappes as well as the Pieniny Klippen Belt suture zone. The oldest olistoliths in the Northern Carpathians represent the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting and post-rifting stage of the Northern Carpathians and origin of the proto-Silesian basin. They are known from the Upper Jurassic as well as Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous formations. In the southern part of the Polish Northern Carpathians as well as in the adjacent part of Slovakia, the olistoliths are known in the Cretaceous- Paleocene flysch deposits of the Pieniny Klippen Belt Zlatne Unit and in Magura Nappe marking the second stage of the plate tectonic evolution - an early stage of the development of the accretionary prism. The most spectacular olistostromes have been found in the vicinity of Haligovce village in the Pieniny Klippen Belt and in Jaworki village in the border zone between the Magura Nappe and the Pieniny Klippen Belt. Olistoliths that originated during the second stage of the plate tectonic evolution occur also in the northern part of the Polish Carpathians, in the various Upper Cretaceous-Early Miocene flysch deposits within the Magura, Fore-Magura, Dukla, Silesian and Subsilesian nappes. The Fore-Magura and Silesian ridges were destroyed totally and are only interpreted from olistoliths and exotic pebbles in the Outer Carpathian flysch. Their destruction is related to the advance of the accretionary prism. This prism has obliquely overridden the ridges leading to the origin of the Menilite-Krosno basin. In the final, postcollisional stage of the Northern Carpathian plate tectonic development, some olistoliths were deposited within the late Early Miocene molasse. These are known mainly from the subsurface sequences reached by numerous bore-holes in the western part of the Polish Carpathians as well as from outcrops in Poland and the Czech Republic. The largest olistoliths (kilometers in size bodies of shallow-water rocks of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age) are known from the Moravia region. The largest olistoliths in Poland were found in the vicinity of Andrychów and are known as Andrychów Klippen. The olistostromes bear witness to the processes of the destruction of the Northern Carpathian ridges. The ridge basement rocks, their Mesozoic platform cover, Paleogene deposits of the slope as well as older Cretaceous flysch deposits partly folded and thrust within the prism slid northward toward the basin, forming the olistostromes.