The Bloke Plateau ( sl, Bloška planota, Bloke) is an extensive bowl-like plateau in southwest

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, part of the traditional region of

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the ...

Geography

The Bloke Plateau measures approximately long and wide. It ranges in elevation between and . Together with the Rakitna tectonic block, the plateau is delineated by two distinct Dinaric faults. According to the geographer Anton Melik, the Bloke Plateau is a remnant of a Pliocene peneplain in the middle of the rejuvenated terrain. Poorly permeable karst limestone and Triassic dolomite (in the northern part of the plateau) conditioned the formation of typical surface watercourses (Bloščica Creek and Blatnica Creek), which are bounded by wet grasslands and minerotrophic fens. Lake Bloke ( sl, Bloško jezero), a reservoir, lies near the settlement of Volčje. Water flows below ground from the Bloke Plateau into

Lake Cerknica Lake Cerknica (; sl, Cerkniško jezero, german: Zirknitzer See) is an intermittent lake in the southern part of the Cerknica Polje, a karst polje in Inner Carniola, a region in southwestern Slovenia. The lake, oriented in the Dinaric direction ...

. The plateau's many hills divide it into the Bloščica Valley and Ločica Valley (or Farovščica Valley), which join to form the Bloke–Fara Karst Field ( sl, Bloško-Farovško polje). There are 45 settlements on the plateau, administratively belonging to the

Municipality of Bloke The Municipality of Bloke (; sl, Občina Bloke) is a municipality in Slovenia. Originally a municipality in its own right, it was incorporated into the Municipality of Cerknica in 1955 and it was included in the Municipality of Loška Dolina in ...

. The Bloke Plateau is accessible from several directions, especially from the Ljubljana and Littoral directions via the A1 Freeway and the town of

Unec Unec (; german: Maunitz''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 122.) is a settlement northwest of Rakek in the Municipality of Cerknica in th ...

via

Cerknica Cerknica (; , german: Zirknitz''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 120.) is a town in the Karst region of southwestern Slovenia, with a p ...

and from Lower Carniola via Ribnica and Sodražica. Points of interest in the area include

Cross Cave Cross Cave ( sl, Križna jama, german: Kreuzberghöhle), also named Cold Cave under Cross Mountain (), is a cave in Slovenia's Lož Valley, in the area between the Lož Karst Field, Cerknica Karst Field, and Bloke Plateau. The cave is named aft ...

(),

Snežnik Castle Snežnik Castle ( sl, Grad Snežnik, german: Schloß Schneeberg) is a 13th-century castle located in the southwest part of the Lož Valley near the settlement of Kozarišče in the municipality of Loška Dolina, Slovenia Slovenia ( ; ...

(), and Rak Škocjan Park (a protected landscape area; ). Geographically, the Bloke Plateau also extends to Snežnik Regional Park.

History

The Bloke Plateau was first mentioned in written documents in 1260, and its central settlement of Nova Vas in 1341. The territory was settled in the first millennium BC by the

Iapydes The Iapydes (or Iapodes, Japodes; el, Ἰάποδες) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between the ...

(an Illyrian tribe). During the Roman era, a road led across the Bloke Plateau from Aquileia and the

Kvarner Gulf The Kvarner Gulf (, or , la, Sinus Flanaticus or ), sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal wa ...

toward the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only th ...

. Remains of a defense wall and a Roman tower near the village of Benete testify to this history.

Cultural heritage

Culturally, the Bloke Plateau is known as the place where skiing originated in Slovenia,Perko, Drago, & Milan Orožen Adamič. 1998. ''Slovenija: pokrajine in ljudje''. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, p. 412. and a cross-country skiing competition is held there every year. The Bloke Plateau has long been crisscrossed by trade routes connecting the interior of Carniola, especially

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

and

, with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

References

External links

Bloke Plateau on Geopedia
* {{coord, 45, 46, 34, N, 14, 30, 26, E, type:mountain_region:SI, display=title Karst plateaus of Slovenia Karst fields Plateaus of Inner Carniola Municipality of Bloke