G E O L O G Y

Interesting Geological Sites in the Liptov region

The region of Liptov that unfolds in the Liptov basin with adjoining slopes of the highest Slovak mountains belongs from the point of view of the natural beauty spots and interesting geological sites to the most beautiful areas of Slovakia. The geological evolution of Liptov was very diverse, it is associated with alternating time periods of sea sedimentation, continental evolution, and orogeny. Last but not least the Liptov region was modeled into the present shape by means of the glacier movements that took place in the youngest period of the Quaternary. Each geological time period is inscribed in stones (rocks, fossils, but also minerals) on which we walk or which we admire as mountains or peaks surrounding the Liptov basin. To the oldest rocks belong granites, granodiorites, etc. (Fig. 1) that were formed during the Paleozoic (cca. 370 million years ago) when magma solidified in the Earth’s depths together with schists (gneisses and others, Fig. 2) that were formed by the transformation (pressing and heating) of already existing rocks placed in the vicinity of the solidifying magma. Both granites and schists constitute the cores of the Tatra mountains and Veľká Fatra Mountains. In the course of the magma solidification the residual magmatic solutions that were rich in noble metals and iron crystallized in the form of quartz-ore lodes that made the region famous through its mining activity. At first (already in the Celt times) through gold (Magurka - Fig. 3, Boca - Fig. 4), silver and copper mining, later through iron and antimony ore (Magurka, Dúbrava - Fig. 5). The granites and schists together with the ore lodes (the bedrock of the core mountain ranges) were raised from the depths gradually in several stages by the Alpine orogeny. The largest raise of a mountain range took place as late as during the last stage of the Alpine orogeny at the turn of Paleozoic and Quaternary (15 to 5 million years ago).

At the foothills of the high mountains surrounding the basin can be found several hundreds of meters thick sediments of the Mesozoic sea (cca 200 – 220 millions years old). The sea was named Tethys and during the time period more than 100 million years long it accumulated at its bed several kilometers thick sediments of organic sludge that contain shells of marine animals and plants. The sediments hardened under its own weight into bulky limestone and dolostone layers (Fig. 6). The precipitation water trickling down from the mountains in the form of surface streams easily cut into these rocks and modeled them into picturesque valleys and gorges (Ludrová Valley, Demänová Valley – Fig. 7, John’s Valley, Prosiek Valley, Kvačany Valley – Fig. 8). The surface water streams dissolved the carbonate rocks (limestones and dolostones) and also permeated into the underground where they formed and are still forming characteristic underground karst structures such as abundant caves and abysses with rich cave decoration (Demänová cave system – Fig. 9 – and The Old Castle – Fig. 10). When the precipitation water permeates through the carbonates into larger depths, it warms up and mineralizes. Thus when it springs from the ground, it offers carbonic water of high quality abundant most of all in Ca2+,Mg2+, HCO3- a CO2.

The mineral waters are extraordinary abundant in the Lipton region particularly due to its geological composition and active tectonics. Because the Liptov valley itself which, besides the fact that it is composed of a large number of dissolvable carbonate rocks, at the present time is steadily sinking and the surrounding mountain ranges are steadily raising (0.2 – 2 mm/year), at the area of their contact there are deep tectonic faults and disruptions through which the water can get into the underground, or they serve as ways through which the water can get to the surface giving rise to springs that are coupled to the crossing of these faults. In the vicinity of a spring sweet-water limestones – travertines - are crystalizing from the mineralized water. These travertines, appear in the Liptov region in the form of various geomorphological formations – travertine hills – Fig. 11 terraces, craters – Fig. 12 and falls – Fig. 13.

The territory of Liptov was flooded also the second time cca 60 million years ago during the Paleozoic. The Paleozoic sea was at first very shallow, warm, and penetrated by the sun rays, the conditions under which foraminifera – numulits (numulus means coin in greek) – could thrive. These organisms were unicellular animals with a soft body shielded by a several square centimeters large calcite shell. In the Paleozoic limestones they are abundant in the Liptov region together with other marine organisms (molluscs, sea urchins, moss animals, algae, shark teeth, etc.) at several well known and rare paleontological localities (The Monk, Štrba, Mohylky – Lísková – Fig. 14). Later on the sea bed became deeper and sediments of flysh character settled down on it creating alternating layers of sandstones and fine-grained claystones that were poor in fossils (Fig. 15).

Other rare localities with uniquely preserved marine organism fossils (extinct species of brachiopods – Fig. 16, cephalopods, corals, etc.) can be found in older Mesozoic limestones, the above mentioned sediments of the Tethys sea. Some of them are of Slovak or even of all-European significance (Hybe – Fig. 16, Švošov, Ann of Liptov). From among terrestrial fossils most known are three footprints of the dinosaur Coelurosaurus – Fig. 17, so far the only evidence about the presence of dinosaurs on the Slovak territory. They were found in the sandstone layers that trace back to the Triassic era (the oldest time period of the Mesozoic, cca 200 millions years ago) in the Silent Valley in Western Tatras. To other significant terrestrial fossils belong the bones of mammoth, rhinoceros, and reindeer that were found in the former quarry in the travertines in the Bešeňová surroundings but also the fossilized bones of the cave bear, hyenas, and very rare cave lions that were all found in the caves of Liptov.

Lecturer:
  • RNDr. Monika Orvošová, Slovenské múzeum ochrany prírody a jaskyniarstva v L.Mikuláši

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