Karstbase Bibliography Database

The Dinaric karst is geographically and geologically the carbonate part of the Dinaric Mountains on the Balkan Peninsula between the Adriatic Sea and the Pannonian Basin. The Dinaric karst is a “classical” karst for many reasons: the term karst (kras) was derived from its northwest part (Kras plateau); from the region originate such international terms as polje, uvala, doline, kamenitza, and ponor; and it is also the landscape where karstology and speleology as sciences were born. The most characteristic relief forms are high karst plateaus and numerous poljes elongated in a northwest–southeast direction (“Dinaric” direction), leveled surfaces, dolines, large and deep caves, sinking rivers, and abundant springs. According to different geological, hydrological, climate, and geomorphic characteristics, the Dinaric karst can be divided into three belts parallel to the Adriatic Sea: low coastal Adriatic karst, high mountain karst, and low continental inland karst. The Dinaric karst is known also as a limestone desert, a bare rocky landscape that results from climate conditions and especially because of intense land use in past centuries.