Karst & Coast

Introducing Karst & Coast

The Karst region (www.kras-carso.com) is a limestone plateau stretching from Nova Gorica southeast to the Croatian border, west to the Gulf of Trieste and east to the Vipava Valley. Because it was the first such area to be researched and described in the 19th century, it is called the Classic, Real, True or Original Karst and always spelled with an upper-case ‘K’. Other karst areas (from the Slovene word kras) around the world only get a lower-case ‘k’.

The thick layers of limestone deposits were laid down millions of years ago. Earth movements then raised the limestone above sea level, where it could be attacked by mildly acidic rainwater. Over hundreds of thousands of years, this slow, chemical erosion has produced limestone pavements, dry valleys, sinkholes, springs and, of course, vast subterranean networks of caves and tunnels.

Rivers, ponds and lakes can disappear and then resurface in the porous limestone through sinkholes and funnels. Some rivers have created large underground caverns like the caves at Škocjan. Calcium carbonate dissolved in the water dripping from the roofs of caves creates stalactites and stalagmites. When these underground caverns collapse – and they do periodically – they form a depression polje that collects soil (mostly red clay, the terra rossa of the Karst) and then vegetation. These fertile hollows are cultivated by local farmers, but because of the proximity of underground rivers, they tend to flood quickly after heavy rain.

The Karst, with its olives, ruby-red Teran wine, pršut (air-dried ham), old stone churches and red-tiled roofs, is some people’s favourite region of Slovenia. But although the weather is very pleasant for most of the year, with lots of sun and low humidity, don’t be fooled. The burja, a fiercely cold northeast wind, can do a lot of damage in winter, although it is said to give the pršut its distinctive taste.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009