The Slovak Karst ( sk, Slovenský kras) is one of the

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s of the

Slovenské Rudohorie The Slovak Ore Mountains ( sk, Slovenské rudohorie , hu, Gömör–Szepesi-érchegység, german: Slowakisches Erzgebirge or Zips-Gemer-Erzgebirge) are an extensive mountain range within the Carpathian Mountains, located mostly in Slovakia's ...

Mountains in the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

in southern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. It consists of a complex of huge karst plains and plateaus. Since 1973 it has been a protected landscape area. On 1 March 2002 Slovak Karst National Park was declared. It is also a UNESCO

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

and part of it forms

UNESCO World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

site Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst.

Characteristics

The highest peak is Jelení vrch at 947 m

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The c ...

. Important rivers are the Slaná (Sajó), the Štítnik and the Turňa. The Slovak Karst lies in the north temperate zone and has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. The area is composed of several layers of

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Creta ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

and dolomite, beneath which there is non-permeable

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, limestone and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

. The plains are covered by oak-

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornb ...

forests, the hills by oak forests and the karst pits by

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

forests.

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

forests are in the northern parts. The plains (plateaus) have many karst formations, such as karst pits with diameters of up to 250 m and depths of about 45 m, conical hills, blind and half-blind valley and dales. The subterranean karst is known for its deep vertical abysses, such as: *''Čertova diera'' (literally Devil's Hole; depth: 186 m) *''Brázda'' (181 m) *''Malá železná priepasť'' (Little Iron Abyss; 142 m) *''Diviačia priepasť'' (Boar Abyss; 122 m) Some of the abysses are collapsed, especially the ''Silická ľadnica'' (Silica Ice Abyss; 110 m) The region is best known for its many

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, out of which the Domica Cave, Ochtinská Aragonite Cave (''Ochtinská aragonitová jaskyňa''), Gombasek Cave (''Gombasecká jaskyňa'') and

Jasovská Cave Jasov Cave ( sk, Jasovská jaskyňa, and hu, Jászói barlang) is a speleothem limestone cave and archaeological site in the Slovak Karst in Slovakia. It is located near the village of Jasov, around from Košice city. History The cave was p ...

(''Jasovská jaskyňa'') are open to the public. Other noteworthy caves are Krásnohorská Cave (''Krásnohorská jaskyňa'') and Hrušovská Cave (''Hrušovská jaskyňa''). The region also includes karst lakes. The largest lake is ''Jašteričie jazero'' (literally Lizard Lake), "Gyükerréti-tó" in Hungarian. The Slovak Karst also features rare plants, for example: *''

Erythronium dens-canis ''Erythronium dens-canis'', the dog's-tooth-violet or dogtooth violet, is a bulbous herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Liliaceae, growing to . It is native to central and southern Europe from Portugal to Ukraine. It is the only na ...

'' (a relict from the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non- avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

period) *''

Onosma tornensis ''Onosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are native to the Mediterranean and western Asia. They grow in dry, sunny habitats with rocky, sandy substrates.Koyuncu, O., et al. (2013)A new ''Onosma'' (Boraginaceae) s ...

'' (

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

) *'' Sesleria heufleriana'' (endemic) *''

Dianthus lumnitzerii ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Ameri ...

'' (endemic) and rare animals, for example: * Eastern imperial eagle (''Aquila heliaca'') * Short-toed eagle (''Circaetus gallicus'') * Lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'')

Subdivision

Parts (from the west to the east): *''Jelšavský kras'' (literally Jelšava Karst) *''Koniarska planina'' (Koniarska Plain) *''Plešivská planina'' (Plešivská Plain) *''Silická planina'' (Silická Plain) *''Turnianska planina'' (Turnianska Plain); see also Turňa *''Horný vrch'' (Upper Mountain) *''Dolný vrch'' (Lower Mountain) *''Zádielska planina'' (Zádielska Plain) *''Jasovská planina'' (Jasovská Plain)

External links

Slovakia.travel: Slovak Karst National Park
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians Geography of Košice Region Karst plateaus Tourist attractions in Košice Region

Characteristics

Subdivision

See also

External links