Dr. Kubassek János szerk.: A Kárpát-medence természeti értékei (Érd, 2004)

Dr. János Kubassek: Mosaics from the natural heritage of the Carpathian Basin

VL SV. $u o tographs published in the present volume deserve special attention also because the human interventions in the natural environment of the Carpathian Basin in the past century resulted in such changes of the landscape which damaged the geological heritage. However, the construction of roads and railways, the regulation of waters were necessary for the economic development. The economic demand and the development of the construction industry may explain the need for quarries, but if you think of the terrible scars made by the basalt quarrying in Badacsony Hill, you may easily come to sad conclusions. The volcanic buttes in the Balaton Uplands National Park are the most attractive sites for tourists in the Tapolca Basin today, but these hills were very near to complete destruction. First of all Szent György Hill and Badacsony Hill were endangered by the eager profit makers, who did not consider the natural values. We are lucky today that the dangerous mining in the area was stopped and the interesting geological-geomorphologicai

1 sites and unique rock forms were saved from mining. The basalt columns of Hegyes-tű Hill are not only among the most peculiar geological forms in the Carpathian Basin, but they are considered one of the most beautiful volcanic curiosities in Europe too. This statement is also true for the imposing basalt columns of Detunata, hidden in the Transylvanian Mountains in Romania, or the basalt forms of the rocks of Somoskő Castle. Detunata is a unique scene; here was the centre of the largest volcanic eruption in the Carpathian Basin at the end of the Tertiary. The two neighbouring volcanic cones were built up by the Upper Pliocene eruptions that broke through the Cretaceous sedimentär)' rocks. The bending basalt columns or rock organs can only be compared to the famous forms in Ireland and Scotland. Fortunately, Detunata was not destroyed by quarrying. Its preservation is an important public interest, which is respected by every rationally thinking decision maker. The photographs taken in the Torda Gorge are among the most beautiful pictures in the volume. The gorge of the Hesdát (Hasdate) Stream and the imposing Székely-k? Hill (Piatra Secuieascä) are such unparalleled limestone sites that will have a good chance to apply for being placed on the World Heritage list of UNESCO. The photograph of Szent Anna Lake, a volcanic crater lake in the heart of the Harghita Mountains offers an excellent opportunity to compare the scenery today. We are glad to see that the land remained relatively untouched in the past one hundred years. Looking at