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Slovakia,
well-known for its natural splendours, spreads between the Danube river
and the Tatras. Stretching from the Danube and the East Slovakia valleys,
it passes into the gently rolling Carpathian hillsides, further projecting
into majestic ridges and culminating in split Tatran crests.
Slovakia
can be regarded as a nature preserve of Central Europe. It is a land of
alluvial forests, steppes, semi-steppes and intensively cultivated soil,
a country of foothills and mountains and great many peat bogs as well
as salt marshes and dead branch-waters. It is a beautyful country of torrents,
abundant forests, meadows, and rock formations...
You can
find many different types of terrain in Slovakia, that could be very interesting
from orienteers' point of view. Slovakia lies in Western Carpathians,
in Central Europe, it means that the terrain is mostly typically continental.
But orienteers can find in many places very special terrains like this:
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Slovak
Karst (Slovensky Kras) - Silica Plateau
It is
a unique territory from geomorphological, botanical, zoological and
orienteers´ viewpoints which in prehistoric period formed sort of
a plateau of Triassic limstone. The water created a whole extensive
network of caves, the roofs of which gradually collapsed and gave
rise to the canyon-like valleys and plateaus.
This
is the semiopen plateau with many caves, holes and depressions. World
Cup 1988 in Czechoslovakia was organized in this terrain.
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Mountainous
terrain (High Tatras, etc.)
High
Tatras (Tatra National Park), Low Tatras (Low Tatra National Park),
Mala Fatra (National Park), Slovak Paradise (Slovensky Raj National
Park) and Velka Fatra Mountains are the most important territories
of natural protection in Slovakia. These mountains hide great variety
of animate and inanimate nature including many endemics of plants
and animals. Typical of Tatras are flocks of mountain goats, marmots,
but also bear, wolf and lynx. From the inamate nature are the well-known
Tatran high altitude glacier lakes and waterfalls embraced by the
steep rocky crests and peaks averaging 2,600 m high.
This
is similar terrain to alpine terrains in Alps (Switzerland, Austria,...).
This type of terrain was used for the World Cup 1998 in Slovakia in
High Tatras.
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Typical
Carpathian terrain (Little Carpathians, Stiavnica Mountains, etc.)
Small
Carpathians stretches some 100 km from Danube gateway near Devin across
the Devinska Kobyla hill near the capital Bratislava towards the localities
of Trstin and Nove Mesto nad Vahom. The geological basement varies
in slate, granite, limestone, marl, etc. and includes several karst
areas. This is the most extensively used terrain for orienteering
in Slovakia.
Stiavnica
Mountains spreads in our most extensive volcanic mountain range with
all kinds of volcanic rock.
The
terrain is very hilly, with many pathes, vegetation boundaries, small
cliffs and stones.
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Volcanic
ravines
In many
places in Slovakia you can find special ravines due to volcanic activity
and erosion.
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Plains
In the
northern direction from the capital Bratislava are situated some sandy
plains, very well runable, somewhere with many details and small hills.
Last
Modified: November 15, 2002 by Juraj Petrinec
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