Veress Márton: A Bakony természettudományi kutatásának eredményei 23. - Covered karst evolution... (Zirc, 2000)

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHERN BAKONY KARST

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTHERN BAKONY KARST Below those features of karstification are emphasized which differ from karst in medium-height mountains in general: - Surface karst landforms most typically occur in summit level, while underground features are usually found in the sides of valleys incised into the blocks. (There are no or very few caves in the slopes of blocks.) - The coupling of karstic and non-karstic processes is stronger than in the case of other karst areas. Karst processes influence non-karstic landforms and resculpture them and, at the same time, non-karstic processes also shape karst features further. - Karst features (particularly surface features) are absent from the surfaces of rocks otherwise suitable for karstification. Surface karstification takes place over covered surfaces. The density of karst landforms is not too high and in size they are also behind landforms in the Bükk or Aggtelek Mountains of North-Hungary. - Autogenic and allogenic karsts and karstification are not present in the mountains. (Cryptokarsts, however, are widespread. Buried karst features are also typical of the mountains or were common in the past. The products of this type of karstification, however, are only observed after exhumation.) As a consequence, ponors developed on rock boundaries, blind valleys, ponors (swallow holes) developed on valley rock boundaries and swallow sinkholes produced by retreating bathycapture are all absent. Corrosion sinkholes are also virtually absent. The surface karst of the mountains is characterized by features presenting the properties of both ponors and dolines (sinkholes) and fossil karst features are also common. Fossil karst features mean formations created by karstification in or reaching over to recent times, but not active, not developing at present. - Caves are of small dimensions and occur at variable altitudes. Cave systems and erosional caves are equally absent from the mountains.