Repedea Hill Fossil Site () is a

nature 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, funga, or features of geologic ...

located 9 km south of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, in the historical region of

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Repedea Hill is part of the Iași Ridge (), at the contact between the Central

Moldavian Plateau The Moldavian Plateau () is a geographic area of the historical region of Moldavia, spanning nowadays the east and northeast of Romania, most of Moldova (except the south), and most of the Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine (where it is known as the ''P ...

and the Jijia Plain.

History

First studies of the zone were in 1862, when

Grigore Cobălcescu Grigore Cobălcescu (September 22, 1831 – May 21, 1892) was a Moldavian, later Romanian geologist and paleontologist who is credited with introducing both fields into his country. Born in Iași, he graduated from the local Engineering and Arch ...

, professor at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

, published the "Repedea's Limestone" (Romanian: ''Calcariul de la Răpidea'') research article. These scientific studies, describing the fossil fauna, are considered to be the birth document of the Romanian

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

. In 1953, the perimeter was declared a reserve, being the first geological reserve in Romania. The total area of 44.3 ha consists of the proper scientific area of 5.8 ha (western and north-western slopes of Repedea Hill), and a buffer zone of 38.5 ha.

Geology

The fossils and the limestone discovered in the area were part of the former Paratethys (Sarmatic) Sea. The scientific area includes the limestone walls, the former

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

(

oolitic limestone Oolite or oölite () is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 millimetres; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisol ...

), the caves and an area of the structural plateau. Many Basarabian lithological

outcrops An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

are protected within the scientific reserve and contain a rich and important Sarmatian fossil deposit, representative for the Moldavian Platform. The buffer zone is largely located on the Repedea structural plateau, which represents a reversed

cuesta A cuesta () is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology, the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, the whole being tilted somew ...

Picture gallery

File:Rezervația Repedea17.jpg File:Rezervația Repedea5.jpg File:Rezervația Repedea12.jpg

References

External links

Endokarstic Relief within the Natural Reserve Area of "Repedea Hill Fossil Site"
at radioiasi.ro {{coord, 47, 05, 19, N, 27, 38, 37, E, region:RO_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Iași Canyons and gorges of Romania Tourist attractions in Romania Nature reserves in Romania Geography of Iași County Tourist attractions in Iași County Paleontological sites of Europe

History

Geology

Picture gallery

See also

References

External links