Repedea Hill Fossil Site ( ro, Locul fosilifer Dealul Repedea) is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located 9 km south of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

, in the historical region of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Repedea Hill is part of the Iași Ridge ( ro, Coasta Iașilor), at the contact between the Central

Moldavian Plateau The Moldavian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Moldovei) is a geographic area of the historical region of Moldavia, spanning nowadays east and northeast of Romania, most of Moldova (except the south), and most of the Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine (where it ...

and the

Jijia Plain Jijia Plain ( ro, Câmpia Jijiei) is a geographic area in northeast Romania, occupying most of Botoșani County and parts of Iași County. Despite the name, it is not a flatland, but a region dotted with hills, part of the Moldavian Plateau. In Rom ...

History

First studies of the zone were in 1862, when

Grigore Cobălcescu Grigore Cobălcescu (September 22, 1831 – May 21, 1892) was a Moldavian, later Romanian geologist and paleontologist who is credited with introducing both fields into his country. Born in Iași, he graduated from the local Engineering and Arc ...

, professor at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

, published the "Repedea's Limestone" (Romanian: ''Calcariul de la Răpidea'') research article. These scientific studies, describing the fossil fauna, are considered to be the birth document of the Romanian

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

. In 1953, the perimeter was declared a reserve, being the first geological reserve in Romania. The total area of 44.3 ha consists of the proper scientific area of 5.8 ha (western and north-western slopes of Repedea Hill), and a buffer zone of 38.5 ha.

Geology

The fossils and the limestone discovered in the area were part of the former Paratethys (Sarmatic) Sea. The scientific area includes the limestone walls, the former

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

(

oolitic limestone Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 ...

), the caves and an area of the structural plateau. Many Basarabian

lithological The lithology of a Rock (geology), rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core sample, core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain ...

outcrops An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...

are protected within the scientific reserve and contain a rich and important Sarmatian fossil deposit, representative for the Moldavian Platform. The buffer zone is largely located on the Repedea structural plateau, which represents a reversed

cuesta A cuesta (from Spanish ''cuesta'' "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer ...

Picture gallery

File:Rezervația Repedea17.jpg File:Rezervația Repedea5.jpg File:Rezervația Repedea12.jpg

References

External links

Endokarstic Relief within the Natural Reserve Area of "Repedea Hill Fossil Site"
at radioiasi.ro {{coord, 47, 05, 19, N, 27, 38, 37, E, region:RO_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Iași Canyons and gorges of Romania Tourist attractions in Romania Nature reserves in Romania Geography of Iași County Tourist attractions in Iași County Paleontological sites of Europe

History

Geology

Picture gallery

See also

References

External links