NATuRE TRAIL LANDFORMS of THE BOVEC REGIon On its way to the Adriatic sea, the Soča Valley has paved a zigzag path through the mountainous landscape. At the village of Žaga, it performs an almost full U-turn from the Alpine (W–E) to the Dinaric direction (NW–SE). In search of the shortest way to the Občina Bovec sea, the water has carved characteristic narrow and steep gorges on the sections that traverse the Alpine orographic mountain direction. An example of such a gorge is the narrow and deeply carved valley of Koritnica above the Kluže Fortress, which divides the Rombon massif from the peak of Krnica. Another interesting phenomenon by the Kluže Fortress (lat. claustra, blockade) is the the Bovec 60m deep narrow gorge, formed on the threshold between the higher lying side valley and the lower main valley. With the excep- mountain panorama tion of the vast Bovec basin, which runs parallel to the orographic mountain direction range, steep mountainsides and sharp . v a peaks are characteristic for the rest of the valleys in c and gravel terrace i i n r t the area. This is the result of heavy water and o K glacial erosion, but also of prevailing steep www.bovec.si lying thrust plains resulting in steep THe BOvEC lying rock layers. The mountain of Svinjak (1637m), also known as the Bovec THe BOvEC PANORAma a Matterhorn c r n i along the emerald trail and K PANORAma i n Bovec n a a u K t e l a the Bovec mountain p panorama and gravel terrace Bavški Above and left: Illustration of the PREDEL Grintavec position of glaciers on the edge of KLUŽE (2347m) the Bovec basin at the end of the located on the same last glacial period. Koritnica ridge, particularly i BOVEC stand out in this regard. PLUŽNA KAL–KORITNICA info VIRJE GLACIERS WATERFALL i A large number of U-shaped P valleys in the area is a sign of a glacial activity in the past. At the AIRFIELD peak of glaciation, the several Soča T1-2 hundred meter thick and 60km GOLF Alpe Adria Trail long Soča glacier reached from the Glijun R TRENTA–VRŠI valley of the upper Soča all the way Alpe Adria Trail Č down to the town of Most na Soči. Soča BOKA WATERFALL The Bovec Boka Panorama ČEZSOČA BOKA Slatenik LEGEND UČJA–IT info REZIJA Lead partner and editor: En Hec d.o.o. Pravljica v Bovcu concept, project and manager: T1 Metka Belingar. Author of trail content and Slovene texts: dr. Jurij Kunaver. Expert i info point thematic point TARCENTO Soča revision: dr. Blaž Komac. Translations: Evridika Cuder. Photography: Metka Belingar, Ivo Ivančič, Jurij Kunaver, Anja Rebek, archive LTO Bovec - Danijel Žagar. Ground P parking lot hiking trail Bovec plan: Stanko Buser. Relief Model: Jože Pirnat. Google Earth: Bovška kotlina 46o 20’ 00’’ Učja N in 13o 33’ 00’’ E, 5. September 2014. Graphic design and illustrations: Metka Belingar. R viewpoint road Prepress and printing: Copigraf. Quantity: 2500 copies. Bovec, 2014. ŽAGA This document has been produced within the project Pravljica» v Bovcu« with the Airfield financial assistance of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The 45 min 3 km dificulty 1 10 min 500 m KOBARID Managing Authority Rural Development Programme for the period 2007-2013, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment. Responsible for the content: EN HEC d.o.o. R = map other thematic nature trails around Bovec TIC Bovec Tel: +386 (0)5 384 19 19 Trg golobarskih žrtev 8 Gsm: +386 (0)31 388 700 5230 Bovec, Slovenia E-mail: [email protected] project by: En hec d.o.o. Evropski kmetijski sklad za razvoj podeželja: Evropa investira v www.bovec.si podeželje. Projekt sofinancira EU. 1 pobočni grušč 2 nanosi rek in potokov – aluvij 0,01 ml HOLOCEN Veliki vrh / Rombon 2208 m 3 starejši nanosi Soče (prod, pesek, konglomerat) 2000 - KVARTAR 4 Starejši konglomerat GPolovnikEOGra 1482PHIC m al FEATURES THE BOVEC GRAVEL TERRACE The Bovec basin is the geographical centre of the Bovec At the end of the last glacial period, numerous glacier 1,8 ml 1500 - KENOZOIK PLEISTOCEN 5 morene municipality, which covers the entire basin of the Soča tongues reached all the way down to the Bovec basin and Čezsoča Bovec ni prisoten v Bovški kotlini 1000 - river from the source to the village of Trnovo ob Soči. It left behind frontal moraines at its edges. A bit further 65 ml Soča TERCIAR is one of the largest municipalities in Slovenia in terms of towards the south, glacial waters created glacial lake 6 menjava peščenjaka in laporja-fliš 500 - surface area (367km2) and one of the smallest in terms of sediments, which are today the thickest at the village of population (3,186). The lowest point is at the village of Srpenica. The melting and retreating glaciers filled the KREDA 7 rdečkasti laporji in apnenci 145 ml 0 - Srpenica by the Soča river (315m) and the highest on the bottoms of the valleys with gravel and caused the forma- 8 rdečkasti apnenci in breče top of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia (2864m). tion of stepped gravel terraces, especially in the Bovec JURA 190 ml 9 skladoviti oolitni apnenec 0 The 1Bovec km basin is considered to be one of the largest relief basin. The Bovec gravel terrace has an inclination of MEZOZOIK 10 skladoviti dachsteinski apnenec depressions in the Julian Alps. It is a part of the Soča Valley 14‰ and surface of 5km2. It is the largest terrace in the and the western part of the Slovenian Alpine world, or the Upper Soča Valley and a genuine natural phenomenon. 228 ml 11 masivni in skladoviti dolomit Bovec Julian Alps and is the juncture of three long and Although there are no visible traces of a forerunner to ZGORNJI TRIAS prelom two short valleys. The longest among them is the valley of the Soča river here, the only possible explanation for its the upper Soča in the east (with the side valleys of Lepena, formation would be a river once flowing on this territory, nariv Vrsnica, Zadnjica in Trenta and the valley of Zapoden) filling the area with gravel. followed by the Koritnica valley together with Možnica and Loška Koritnica in the northeast, as well as the Učja valley in the west. On the edges of the Bovec basin the shorter Bavšica and Slatenik valleys are located. 457 m pobočni grušč slope gravel 1 slope gravel 1 MALA VAS 452 m nanosi rek in potokov – aluvij 2 river and stream deposits – alluvium 2 river and stream deposits – alluvium 0,01 ml 0,01 ml Holocene Holocene HOLOCEN 3 starejši nanosi Soče (prod, pesek, konglomerat) 3 older deposits of the Soča river older deposits of the Soča river (gravel, sand, conglomerate) (gravel, sand, conglomerate) Starejši konglomerat 4 older conglomerate 4 older conglomerate BOVEC 460 m KORITNICA 460 m 1,8 ml 1,8 ml KVARTAR/Quaternary morene Quaternary Pleistocene Pleistocene moraines PLEISTOCEN 5 moraines 5 RABELJK 519 m ni prisoten v bovški kotlini not present in the Bovec basin KAL 450 m KENOZOIK/Cenozoic not present in the Bovec basin Cenozoic 65 ml 65 ml Tertiary Tertiary TERCIAR menjava peščenjaka in laporja-fliš 454 m 6 sandstone and marl - flysch 6 sandstone and marl - flysch 7 rdečkasti laporji in apnenci 7 red marlstone and limestone 145 ml 145 ml KREDA red marlstone and limestone Cretaceous rdečkasti apnenci in breče Cretaceous DVOR 430 m STRŽIŠČE 486 m 8 red limestone and breccia 8 red limestone and breccia JURA skladoviti oolitni apnenec Jurassic Jurassic 190 ml 9 190 ml 9 layered limestone layered limestone 405 m skladoviti dachsteinski apnenec 10 layered Dachstein limestone 10 layered Dachstein limestone 228 ml 228 ml Triassic Triassic masivni in skladoviti dolomit 11 massive and layered dolomite 11 massive and layered dolomite LETALIŠČE 438 m ZGORNJI TRIAS MEZOZOIK/Mesozoic prelom Mesozoic faultline faultline nariv thrust 431 m thrust GEOLOGY The Bovec basin is unusually broad and vast. This can be 425 m explained by taking a closer look at its geological structure. Two faultlines run over it in the Dinaric direction (NW– SE) – the Krn-Kobla and the Ravne faultline. They run SOČA 364 m parallel to the Idrija faultline, the most important one 368 m Above: The view above the village of Kal–Koritnica towards the in this part of Slovenia. All three of them are seismically Bovec basin. Veliko Čelo is an outdoor museum with artilery active, since they result from the subduction of the African 372 m positions built by the Austro-Hungarian Army during WWI. under the Eurasian lithospheric plate. The tectonic characteristics of the Bovec basin are those of 380 m a syncline, which can be pictured as an open book. The first SSZ (335°) JJV (105°) page is made of Flysch – a rock composed of sandstone and ČEZSOČA 369 m 500 m 394 m 450 m marly layers, deriving from the Upper Cretaceous period, LETALIŠČE 438 m the last era in which this area was still a sea. Flysch decays 418 m ČEZSOČA fast and is mostly present in the Soča gravel and glacial 431 m SOČA 369 m deposits. Below it are thin layers from the lower Cretaceous 400 m 364 m and Jurassic age. Deeper layers consist of the main rock of nadmorska višina (m) the Kanin Mountain Range and all other Bovec mountains – upper Triassic Dachstein limestone lying above dolomite. 444 m On the Kanin slopes, the layers of Dachstein limestone are Ground300 m plan (left) and slightly inclined towards the south and sink below the bottom cross-section0 m (extreme left) 500 m 1000 m Above:1500 m Marked direction2000 of the m cross-sectionrazdalja (m) of the Bovec terrace.