The Fatra-Tatra Area (in geomorphology) or the Tatra-Fatra Belt of core mountains (in geology) is a part of the
Inner Western Carpathians, a subprovince of the
Western Carpathians
The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wit ...
. Most of the area lies in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to th ...
with small parts reaching into
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. The highest summit of the whole Carpathians, the
Gerlachovský štít
Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as ''Gerlachov Peak'', German: ''Gerlsdorfer Spitze'', Hungarian: ''Gerlachfalvi-csúcs''), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the Carpa ...
at , lies in the
High Tatras
The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...
range which belongs to this area.
The Fatra-Tatra Area is from the northern side bounded by
Pieniny Klippen Belt. Mountains of the area are located in two ranges. The external range consists of
Hainburg Hills,
Malé Karpaty (Pezinok part),
Považský Inovec
Považský Inovec is a mountain range in western Slovakia, named after the Váh river. It is 48 km (30 mi) long and 15–25 km (9-16 mi) wide mountain range. It is situated from the city of Hlohovec, raising from the Danubian ...
,
Strážovské vrchy,
Malá Fatra
Malá Fatra (; also Little Fatra or Lesser Fatra, pl, Mała Fatra, hu, Kis-Fátra) is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in the north-west of Central Slovakia. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the Fatra-Tatra Area.Craig ...
,
Tatras
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the high ...
(
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
,
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
and
Belianske Tatry). Inner range consists of
Tribeč,
Žiar,
Veľká Fatra
Veľká Fatra (; also Great Fatra or Greater Fatra; hu, Nagy-Fátra) is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in Slovakia. The Veľká Fatra lie to the southeast of the better known Malá (Lesser) Fatra mountains and are less developed, as ...
,
Chočské vrchy, Ďumbier part of
Nízke Tatry and massif of
Smrekovica in the
Branisko.
[Plašienka, D., 2006: ''Princípy regionalizácie geologickej stavby Malých Karpát a Považského Inovca.'' In: Kováč, M., Dubíková, K., ''Nové metódy a výsledky v geológii Západných Karpát.'' Zborník 2006, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava, p. 51 – 56] The southern boundary of Area is the
Čertovica line, south of which is the
Vepor Belt.
The Tatra-Fatra Belt consists of
Tatric alpine crystalline
basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box ...
and its
autochthonous
Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to:
Fiction
* Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis
* Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick
* Autochthon, a Primordial in the ' ...
sedimentary cover, over which the
Subtatric nappes (
Fatric and
Hronic) were thrust.
[Hók, J., Kahan, Š., Aubrecht, R., 2001]
''Geológia Slovenska.''
Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava, 43 p.
The name ''core mountains'' is derived from the structural element, resistant crystalline
basement rocks, preserved in the core of
horsts, often forming the highest
peaks Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...
of the mountains.
Origin
The basement of the core mountains is formed by the
Tatric Unit, which is composed of dominantly
hercynian
The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.
Nomenclature
The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...
metamorphic
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
and
igneous rocks
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
and locally also a sedimentary cover of various thickness. In the
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and '' ...
clastic and volcanoclastic
sediments
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand a ...
deposited in the area, but later during
Hercynian orogeny
The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.
Nomenclature
The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...
, sediments were metamorphosed in the
greenschist
Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically and 2–10 kilobars (). Greenschists commonly have an abundance of green minerals such as chlorite, ...
and
amphibolite facies
Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (flaky ...
(forming large amount of
paragneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
es and
amphibolite
Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (flak ...
s, only locally
orthogneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
es,
phyllite
Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...
s and
mica schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
s). Regional and contact metamorphism was induced also by
intrusion
In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
s of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underg ...
s, which accompanied the Hercynian collision (generally in the
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferous ...
). Basement rocks were later exposed due to
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
and at the end of the Paleozoic affected by marine
transgression that lasted till the end of
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
. During this period
sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles t ...
, known as
Tatric cover units, deposited. They generally consists of
clastic
Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks ...
and
carbonate rock
Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone, which is composed of calcite or aragonite (different crystal forms of CaCO3), and dolomite rock (also known as doloston ...
s.
In the
Upper Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', th ...
area of
Tatric Unit, was affected by
Eo-Alpine of
Alpine Orogeny, that caused movement of large masses of rocks to the North and Northeast. To the South of the Tatric area a 2 superficial
nappe
In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock that has been moved more than or above a thrust fault from its original position. Nappes form in compressional tectonic settings like continental collision zones or on the ...
s, so called
Subtatric Nappes, were detached and thrust over the Tatric. These nappes are generally composed of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when ...
,
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
,
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
and less by
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s and
slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
s. The lower nappes is called
Krížna Nappe (or the
Fatric) and the upper is
Choč Nappe (or the
Hronic). Krížňa Nappe is dominantly composed of rock, that were formed in the Zliechov basin. It was situated in the Fatric area between the
Tatric and
Veporic units. Fatric had the same basement as the Veporic unit and is considered as former northern part of Veporic, but later during the thrusting its substratum was consumed and subducted. Surface occurrences of Fatric basement remained only as a remnants in the northern part of Veporic
Veľký Bok Unit and few other areas. Choč Nappe, was thrust from the southern area, but its roots were probably consumed entirely, so its paleogeographic position is not exactly known. Choč Nappe is considered as rootless nappe.
After the end of main Eo-Alpine orogenic movement, the area of Western Carpathians was still not so mountainous. In the
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
subsidence along the normal faults caused formation of
graben
In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults.
Etymology
''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic conte ...
s - intra-mountain
Inner Carpathian Paleogene Basin and
horsts present day mountain ranges. In the Neogene, further orogene movement in the external part of Carpathian arc caused formation of
back-arc 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 the ...
. Northern branches of Pannonian Basin were penetrating the Tatra-Fatra Area and formed inter-mountain basins. Simultaneously with the immersion of the horsts, ongoing and intense erosion is denuding the mountains and supplies the basin with clastic sediments. Among all of the rocks, the most erosion resistant were the crystalline schists and granites of the Tatric. Similar fold and thrust model of origin is known from the other areas of alpine system. In the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
terminology, similar model is called
Fault-block mountain
Fault blocks are very large blocks of rock, sometimes hundreds of kilometres in extent, created by tectonic and localized stresses in Earth's crust. Large areas of bedrock are broken up into blocks by faults. Blocks are characterized by relat ...
, it is typical in the area of
Basin and Range
Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Slovakia
Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians