Читать книгу The Mountains of Montenegro. A Walker's and Trekker's Guide онлайн

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Although no glaciers remain today, some areas bear profound traces of glaciation, with numerous glacial cirques, moraines and glacial lakes (18 of the latter in the Durmitor region alone). Furthermore, glaciation in the Prokletije region occurred at a much lower altitude than in the Alps – as low as 1000m. Plavsko jezero (Lake Plav) is the largest glacial lake in the Balkans; and a glacier in the Plav-Gusinje area is estimated to have been some 35km long and up to 200m thick, which would have made it the largest glacier in the region.

The River Tara, between Žabljak and Mojkovac

Some remarkably deep canyons cut across the Montenegrin highlands, most notably the Tara Canyon which reaches a maximum depth of some 1600m – making it not only the deepest canyon in Europe, but also the second deepest in the world after the Grand Canyon in Colorado. Not far behind in depth are the Piva and Morača gorges, at 1200m and 1100m respectively.

Numerous karst features are associated with the Montenegrin landscape. Karst is formed through the gradual dissolution of limestone by rainwater, and a corresponding enlargement of surface drainage holes as water percolates downwards. The resultant landscape is characterized by a distinctive surface texture of vertical fissures (karren), sinkholes, cone-shaped dells and depressions, together with numerous caves and sinkholes, many of which reach considerable lengths or depths. Surface water rapidly disappears underground to flow as subterranean rivers, which often re-emerge as karst springs, either in the foothills of the mountains or as submarine springs. The largest submarine spring on the Adriatic coast, called Sopot, emerges in the Bay of Kotor. Other distinctive features of the karst landscape include polja – large, shallow depressions between ridges, which vary considerably in size, and in karst areas may be the only suitable areas for cultivation.