Acta Musei Moraviae

The development of cave systems in the northern part of Moravian karst with implementation of new knowledge from Holštejnská jeskyně cave

We found that subsurface rivers in the Moravian karst (and therefore cave levels) have the same gradients as surface rivers with the same drainage areas. On the basis of ancient valley bottoms, subhorizontal parts of caves, recent cave systems and new data from Holštejnská jeskyně cave and Hrádský žleb canyon we recognised four main cave levels (high I, middle I, low I and low II) and five slave cave levels (high II, middle II, middle III, middle IV, the lowest). Main cave levels continues down the stream towards corresponding four valleys bottoms. The high I cave level was created in lower Oligocene after movement of Punkva river stream to the Blanenský prolom sink. The middle I cave level was created in Oligocene after movement of Svitava river stream into the Blanenský prolom sink, which consequent the first deepening of karst rivers and formed the first canyons (upper part of recent canyons). The low I and low II cave levels were created in lower Miocene after uplift of Bohemian massif. The lowest cave level was created in Karpatian. In Badenian the whole area of Moravian karst was below the sea and canyons were filled by clay sediments. After next uplift of the area the most of previous river net was exhumed except Lažánecký žleb canyon. In Pliocene and Pleistocene canyons and valleys were filled by fluvial sediment which reaches up to the high II cave level and denuded many times. In that time the rivers used mainly middle I – high II cave level and low I and low II cave levels. Recently Punkva river flow uses partly low I cave level in the entrance parts (near Holštejn and Sloup villages) and low II cave level down the Bludiště Milana Šlechty in Amatérská jeskyně cave and creates many short connections between them.