Underground Treasures
Svaty Stepan quarry
Classic example of flysch
This abandoned quarry in Svaty Stepan was opened in 1939, shortly after the Nazi occupation started and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was established. Situated in the Vlara Pass, Svaty Stepan was an important crossing between the Protectorate and Slovakia. As the Germans needed to build new roads in this border area, they were looking for local supply of suitable building stone – which is why they opened a quarry here.
If we know what to look for, the quarry is “an open book” of geology. It can show us what the White Carpathians bedrock, the flysch, actually looks like. Flysch is formed of layers of soft sandy shales and marls and hard sandstones, alternating in a “rhythmic” pattern.
The individual layers can be several centimetres to dozens of metres thick and have different characteristics: the hardy sandstones form the bigger ridges of the White Carpathians (e.g. Lopenik and Velka Javorina hills) while the softer shales and marls could be found underneath the gentle slopes and valleys here.
Contact
Vzdělávací a informační středisko Bílé Karpaty, o.p.s.
Marie Petrů
Bartolomějské náměstí 47, 698 01 Veselí nad Moravou
Tel.:518 322 545
e-mail:visbk@bilekarpaty.cz
http://bilekarpaty.cz/vis
