GEOL. C RO AT . 50/2 269 - 278 9 Figs. 6 Tabs. ZAGREB 1997 

Glaciation Traces in the Area of the Risnjak Mountain Massif 

Andrija BOGNAR and IvanCiea PRUGOVECKI 

Key words: Glac iatio n, Cirque, Terminal depress ion, 
G lacial va ll ey, Moraine, Erratic blocks. 

Abstract 
The arca of the Risnjak mountain massif is a submorpholog ical 

region - p.u'\ of the mcsomorphological region of the soulh-western 
Gorski KOlar. Thi s area exceeds 1,500 metre.s in height. In [he rel ie f 
st nl clurc of the mass if, the system of ranges and erosion surfaces -
pla[C:l tlA , has been formed on the folded-b lock, mostly carbonate base 
by subsequent micrOicclonic activity and cxomorpholog ical proccss-
cs. 

Such relationships of relief under conditions of exceptionally low 
ICmpCnl1ul"cs and abundance of snow prec ipitat ion during th e Pleis­
tocene, were prerequisitcs for the developmcnt of gl'lCialion. Glacia­
ti on or the mountain massif was marked by formation or the valley, 
pl>ltcHu and cirque glaciers, wh ich is proved by the discovery of gla ­
cia l moraines and othcr morphological features and correspond ing 
sedimellt s. 

I. INTRODUCTION 

.1. T IlE RESEARCH PROBLEMS 

Th e problem of the Pl eis tocene g laciat ion of the 
Dinari c mountain system in Croatia is one of thc most 
int crest ing gcosc ientifie problems, and one which has 
intri gucd o ther natural sc ience disc iplin es, espec iall y 
bio logy, and has drawn the attention of many natural 
scient ists during the 20th ccntury. 

G laciation was mentioned for the first time by 
HR AN ILOVIC ( 1901 ) as one of the possible means of 
forma tion of the Drciniea plain. GAY AZZI (1903) 
wrote about the Southern Velebit glaciation, and based 
hi s assumptions upon research on the Mala and Veli ka 
Pakleniea pla ins. SCHUBERT (1909) produced the first 
concre te data in his speech about the Southern Velebit 
glaciation. A German geomorphologist BAUER ( 1935) 
deta iled the problems of the Jezera area in Northern 
Velebit, and thought that the Pleis tocene snow-line on 

Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Univers it y o f Zagreb, 
Maruliccv Irg 19/11, IIR- 1 0000 Zagreb, Croatia. 

the Vclebit Mountain had been somewhere between 
1,400 and 1,500 m above sea-level. 

A Hungarian biologist DEGEN (1936) and geomor­
pholog ist MILOJEVIC ( 1922) a lso wrote about the 
Velebit glaciation. POllAK ( 1947) had the opposite 
opin ion. He negated the possibility of Veleb it g lacia­
ti on. POllAK ( 1947) declared that there were s now­
waters which fill ed some bigger sink-holes of the upper 
part of Velebi t. The geographer ROG IC (1957) thought 
similarly. 

The most recent research (NIK LER, 1973 and BEL­
IJ, 1985) proved the existence of glaciation in Southern 
Velebit. and the research of SOKAC et al. ( 1976) and 
BOGNAR el al. (1991) achieved the same in Northern 
Velebit. Furthermore, other authors also wrotc about the 
possible glaciation of particu lar mountains in Croat ia: 
MILOJEVIC (l922) wrole about the glaciers of Troglav 
on the Dinara Mountain; SIFR ER (1959), a Sloven ian 
geomorphologis t , wrote about glaciation of C roatian 
Snjeznik. Pla tak and Obruc; RlDANOVIC wrote about 
glaciation of Orjen ( 1962, 1966); MIHLlEVIC (1995) 
about the possible ex istence of ci rque glac ie rs on the 
upper reaches of the Ucka Mountain , and CECURA 
(1995) publi shed on the g lac iation or the Kamesni ca 
and Dinan! Mountains. 

1.2. TI-IE STUDY AREA 

The study area of the Risnjak mountain massif, and 
part of the Croatian Snjeznik mou ntain range is a com­
ponent of the Outer Dinarides mountain zone in the sel­
ting of the megageomorphological reg ion or the Dinaric 
mountain system. 

The rcseare h was conducted within the fo llowing 
boundar ies: from Gornje Jelcnje in the south to Gerovo 
in the north, [rom the Croat ian Snjcznik mountain range 
in the west to Crni Lug in the cas t. The study area cov­
ers approximately 100 km' (14°35' - 14°42' E; 45°23'-
45°30' N) (Fig. 1). 

The largest part of thi s area is protected as part of 
the "Risnjak" National park (64 km'). 

This paper was presented at the scientific meeting 
dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the life of 

Professor Milan Herak , 
held on March 5th, 1997 in Zagreb 



270 

...... 0" ..... ..... . ... ........ . 

R1JEKA 

........ 
" .. 
..... " 

"""" "'. 

0" ." '. ' . . ..... . 
GEROVO :'; 

~ 
........ . 

'1Ii:t '. ........ . v._ 
"" DELNICE 

10 

Fig. I Geographical position of the study area of the Risnjak moun­
lain massif. 

1.3 . SOME BASIC GEOMORPHO LOGICAL AND 
GEOLOG ICAL CHARACfERISTICS OF 

THE RISNJAK MOUNTAIN MASSIF 

T he Risnjak mountain massif represents a submor­
phological regional un it of the mesogeomorphoiogicai 
regio n of the nort h-weste rn part of Gorski KOlar. The 
study area has been somewhat widened, so it includes a 
part of the subgcomorphologicaJ unit of the Croatian 
Snjcznik mountain range. 

The Risnjak mountain massif is div ided into a series 
o f geomorphological microregions: the mountain range 
o fV eliki Risnjak ( 1,528 m) and Mali Risnjak ( 1,448 m); 
the mounta in range of Janjicarski veh (1,3 14 m), Vc liki 
Bukovac ( 1,266 m) a nd Mali Bukovae (1 ,263 m ); the 
mOllntai n rangc or Velika !iija (l,172 m) and Mala Sija 
( 1,149 m); the Ostra mountain range (1,221 m) , the 
Segi nscek mountain range (1,145 m), the uvala Lazac 
( 1,060 m), a seri es o r uvalas at Gasparae (940 m) -
Seg ine (950 m), the lI va la Lividraga (918 m) and th e 
plain of the Suha Retina river. 

Si milarly, the mountain range of CroaLian Snjcznik 
can be divided into a series of microrelie f units, and th is 
wo rk dea ls with the Radesevo high mounta in e rosion 
surface. 

The Risnjak mountain system is characte rized by a 
folded-blockcd-ovcrthrusled geological structure . Acc­
ordingly, it fall s under the type of conforming morpho­
slruc turcs (BOGNA R, 1987a, b). 

In the regional geological structure of the wider area 
the oldest deposits are Permian, represented by an alte r­
nation of shales and sandstones. Lower Triass ic sandy 
dolomites, containing in tercalations of sandstones, ove­
rlie the Perm ian c las tics. M iddle Triassic deposi ts a rc 
missing and Upper Triassic terrigeneous clastics and/o r 
dolomit es unconformab ly follow th e Lowe r T ri ass ic 
dolomites. Karstified Jurassic carbonate rocks predomi­
nate within the " Risnjak" Nat ional park. They are rep­
resented by shallow marine limestones of the Dinari c 
carbonate plat form, some of which (part ic ularly those 

Geologia Croatica son 

N 8 

w E 

Fig. 2 Transverse profite of Risnjak (N-S, W-E). 

of Early Jurass ic age) , show latc diagene tic dolo­
mitisation.Middle and Late Jurass ic carbonates are pre­

domi nan tly limestones. The Quarternary is rep resented 

by the Pleistocene and Holocenc sed imcnts (SA VIC & 
DOZET, 1984). 

T he investi gated area is cha racteri zed by fo lded­

fau lted tectonics. In places (Gerovo, Suha Recina) there 
are som e struc tures whe re the Permian and T ri assic 

de posits ove rthrust various s trat ig raphi c members of 
the Jurass ic. In its neotectoni c deve lopme nt stage the 

Dinaric platform experienced intensive fau lt disarrange­
me nts (verti cal-s ubve rtical fault s), which, globa ll y, 

resul ted in uplift of the whole serics o r blocks. In rclief 
they appear as chains of mountain ranges and m ass ifs. 

One of thcse blocks is the block-massi I' of Ri snjak 
where faulted tectonics predominates. On a dom inantly 
carbonate base of limestone and dolomites, a compound 

orographic structure has been foml ed. A se ries of range 
e levations can be s ingled out (the range of Vclik i and 
Mali Risnjak etc. - see the microgeomorphologieal d ivi­
sion) as well as a series of little uvalas (Fig. 2). 

Among the range elevati ons of the Ri snjak m assif 
we can see an older erosion surface (Smrckovac), whi­
ch was additionally microtectonically broken and today 

has the characteri stics of a plateau which has been, by 

exogenic morphological processes (corrosion and gla­
cial processes), formed into a hilly region charac le rized 



Bognar & Prugoveeki: Glaciation Traces in the Area of the Risnjak Mountain Massif 271 

[][] ~T"'" 
[IT] TeWItW. DePRE&SION 

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J) B:J ERRATIC ... oao:s 

EJ SlIB-OI.ACWJ.Y ERODED S'ru'$ 

::':\ \ A- IZ2J ~~~ 
'7 ~ [gJ oueERSFEru~AAEA 

by the interplay of deep glacially remodelled dolines, 
escarpments and more or less erosion surfaces. 

2. GEOMORPHOLOGICAL TRACES OF 
GLACIATION 

Mapping of the area of the Risnjak mountain massif 
ascertained for the first time the corresponding geomor­
phological and geological traces of the Pleistocene 
glaciation (Fig. 3). 

2.1. GLACIAL RELIEF FORMS 

The glacial forms in the area of the Risnjak moun­
tain massif developed during the activity of four glaci­
ers, three descended from Risnjak Mt. and one from the 
Sloven ian Sneznik Ml. The sources of the so-called 
Risnjak glaciers are the Smrekovac and RadcSevo (Cro­
atian SnjeZnik) plateau and the range ofVeliki and Mali 

[ZJ <'lI.I"':U'''''~IIRECT1ON 

Fig. 3 Glaciation traces of (he Ris­
njak - Gorski Kotar region. 

Risnjak, while the source of the so-called Sneznik glac­
ier was the plateau at the foot of the Slovenian Sneznik 
(Table 1). 

The glaciation traces include the existence of glacial 
erosion (cirques, nunatak, sub-glacially eroded steps I, 

terminal depressions, glacial valleys) and accumulative 
(moraines, erratic blocks) glacial relief forms. 

2.1.1. Glacial erosion fonms 

In the Risnjak region, the glaciers source area is rep­
resented by systems of glacially remodelled dolines -
cirques, which were mutually connected by ice in the 
Pleistocene. 

Smrekovac is an "older" erosion surface which was 
later microtectonically broken, and today has the fea­
tures of the plateau formed by exogenic processes (pri­
marily by glacial and corrosion processes). This is a 
more-or-less hilly region characterized by the interplay 
of deep glacially remodelled dolines 2, escarpments and 
uneroded parts of the erosion surface. The whole Smre-

I Sub-glacially eroded steps are destructional fonns developed by selective glacial erosion. 

2 Glacially remodelled dolines are pre-glacially fonned sink-holes being filled with ice and snow during glaciation. 



UL lieologl:t Croatlci CiUIL 

Glacier Glaciation time Length in km 

Radesevo - Podcajtige 

Radesevo - Lazae 

Radesevo - Gasparae 

Smrekovae - Segine - Zelinski lug 

Smrekovac - Sijska cesta - Zelinski lug 

Siovenski Sneznik - Lividraga 

Siovenski Sneznik - Mali klanac 

Siovenski Sneinik - Gerovo 

late WOrm 

late WOrm 

late Wurm 

late Wurm 

late Wurm 

late Wurm 

2.5 

4.5 

7.0 

5.5 

7.0 

18.0 

22.5 

24.5 

Table I Es(ima(cd Icng­
ths or the g laciers in 
(he area of the Ris­
njak mountain mas­
sif, of (Ile Croatian 
Snjeznik mountain 
range and Slovcnian 
Sneznik. 

WOrm 

older WOrm or Riss 

kovac area is situated 1,150 m above sea- level (above 
the Pleistocene snow-line) and is, considering its relief, 
open towards the north (Fig. 4). 

Radcsevo - today a plateau (erosion surface) on the 
mountain range of Croatian Snjcznik, like Smrekovae 
represents a system of glacially remodelled dolines and 
escarpments, but located higher above sea-level (over 
1,200 m). These dolines - cirques, considering relief, 
are "opcn" towards thc cast and north-cast (the ice "was 
flowing" towards the uvalas Lazae, Gasparac and Segi­
ne). The glacially remodelled dolines - cirques, were 
pre-glacially formed by corrosion, but by the activity or 
ice, mellwater and snow-water they were deepened and 
widencd, and today their depths vary from several tens 
oj" metres to 209 m (Viljska dol ine). Particular cirques­
dolines arc a hundered metres in width. 

In the Pleistoccne bctwcen the accumulation areas 
of the Risnjak and Snjeznik glaciers, the Sjeverni Mali 
Ri sn.iak - Veliki Risn.iak - Juzni Mali Risnjak range, 
most probably stuck out above the ice like nunataks, 
among the plateau glaciers formed on the Smrekovac 
and RadcSevo plateau. Proof that the very summit oj" 
Risnjak was above the ice includes the periglacial rock 
erosion and microrc licf dissection which couldn't be 
possible if the area had been under the ice (Fig. 5). 
Cryofraction produced rock cracking, rock-fa ll , stone 
stripes and migrating turfs. Except in the topmost parts, 

h g. ~ t\ \ u; w rrom the :-,ulllllli( or Vdd,i Risllpk lowards the ea.\I. 
011 a part of (he system of the glacially remodellcd dolines -
cirques of Smrekovac. 

such microrclief dissection can '( bc found either on the 
Smrekovac (excluding Bijele SLijene) and RadcSevo 
plateaux, or in the systems of the Lazac, Gasparac, Seg­
inc, Zelinski lug uvalas-terminal depressions, and Gero­
vsko poljc. 

In molion, icc with eroded material encounters dif­
feren t obstacles and forms the so-called sub-glacially 
eroded steps. These forms have been establi shed in 
fron t of the terminal depressions and moraines (Podca­
jtige, Gasparac, Sijska cesta, Zeli nski lug, etc.). Fur­
thermore, in addition to glacial erosion, the sub-glacial­
ly eroded steps between particular s in k-ho les were 
remoulded by corrosion processes. With regard to lhe 

Fig. 5 A gbci.dly I\;modcllcd dolinc ill uppcr part of V..:111-..1 i<1.\II.I'II-... 

with periglacial stone stripes and blocks at the bottom. 



l30gnar &. Prngovcl:ki ; (j1;lc i;ltion Traces i II the 1\ rea o f the Ri snjak Mountain Massif 

ri g. 6 r\ lenn ill;iI dcprcssion with <In CIT,l1ic block (forcgrollnd) and 
1he f"rontalmoraine in Segine (in the background). 

chicfly carbonate structure and strong corrosion proce­
sses, it is understandable that the traces of the glaci a l 
striae (furrows) and of the icc smoothed surfaces have 
not been found. 

Each of the four quoted glaciers has formed glacial 
vall eys . These are documented at least in part by the 
"U" shaped transverse profile. This especially relates to 
the Podcajtige glacial valley and the glacia l va ll ey of 
the Sn eznik glac ier north-east and north-west from 
Lividraga. Two glac ial va ll eys on the Smrekovac pla­
teau arc not so prominent (the Sija glacier va ll ey and 
the Gasparac glacial valley). They represent linear elon­
gated valleys marked by a series of dolines-cirques, 
mutually divided by little sub-glacially eroded steps. 

Terminal depressions represent glacial erosion for­
ms surrounded by frontal (final or terminal) moraines. 
Th ey are shallow, by glacia l erosion deepened areas 
where the glaciers melted. Their final forms appeared 
aner th e outflow of meltwater. Terminal depressions, 
today karst uvalas - Lazae, Gasparac, Segine and Livi­
draga were formed in basic rocks (in the Jurassic lime­
stones: Dogger and Maim - Lazac; in the Jurassic lime­
stones : Maim , and Tri assic dolomites: late Triassic -
Seg ine; in the Jurassic dolomites: Lias and Jurassic 
limestones: Maim - Lividraga; SAYle & DOZET, 
1984). They are of different dimensions: Lazac - 900 x 
700111, Gasparac - 600 x 500 111, Liv idraga 800 x 750111. 
As a rule , terminal depressions arc full of glacial accu-

273 

mulative material (from 2-5 m diameter blocks to sill 
with diameters [rom 0.01-0.05 mm), and partly of rIu­
vioglacial material (chiefly subangular, from 2-4 mm to 
approximately 20 em) (Fig. 6). Till or glacial material is 
very poorly sorted. F luvioglacial material is connected 
only wilh terminal depressions and sometim es appears 
in fragments. It is thought that the majority of flu ­
vioglaeial material is to be found outside the studied 
area,jn the direction of the river Kupa plain. 

2.1.2. Accumu lation forms of glacial relief 

When a glacier reaches the equilibrium-line bet­
ween the ablation/accumulation of icc, melting begins 
as well as the accumulation of the eroded material whi ­
ch forms frontal (final or terminal moraines). Drumlins 
and kames haven't been observed. 

\Ve can distinguish accumulations of the ground, 
end and frontal or terminal moraines. In the Risnjak 
area, examples of the ground moraines include: Podca­
jtige - where the ground moraine appears in two forms -
one with elevations and depressions (the eastern side of 
the glacial valley), and another with errat ic blocks (the 
western side of the g lacial valley); the Lazac ground 
moraine, Segine moraine and a series of ground mora­
ines at Lividraga. In Mali Klanac the ground moraine 
has fallen in, probably due lO road excavations, so its 
structure can be seen clearly. Like till , in the previously 
mentioned terminal depressions, compositionally mora­
ine is represented by a very heterogenous materia l, 
from blocks (wi th diameter of 1 m) to silt. 

Frontal or terminal moraine has the form of an elon­
gated (Zelinski lug) and half-moon (Gerovo, Gasparac, 
Lazae, Lividraga and Segine) wall (deposit) surround­
ing the terminal depression. The Gasparac frontal 
moraine was made by a glac ier the source of which was 
probably in the area of the modern Radesevo plateau. 
The moraine is covered with vegetation and is 250 111 

long and 150 m wide. The glaciers from the Smrekovae 
area formed two moraines: Sijska cesta (dimensions 
500 x 300 m) and the largest, probably terminal mora­
ine of the Risnjak glaciers - Zelinski lug (1,800 x 
500 m) (Fig. 7). The ice which "was nowing" from the 
Siovenian Sneznik, formed a series of frontal moraines 
of different dimensions: between Lividraga and Gerovo 
(the frontal moraine Lividraga 1,000 x 150 m, the fro­
ntal moraine at the foot of Seginscak: 600 x 300 Ill). 

r ig . 7 The Zel insk i lug fronlal moraine Wilh lhe Mascnicak Terminal deprcssion. 



Fig. 8 A profile of the frontal moraine in Gerovo. Typical heteroge ­
nous lilt where huge blocks of several hundreds of kilograms mix 
with tiny karst material. 

The Gerovo terminal moraine represents the final reach 
of the Sneznik glacier and forms a wall 500 m long and 
300 m wide (Fig. 8). In the glacial material in the Livi­
draga doline and in the area of the fron tal moraine dis­
cove red in Gerovo, a somewhat greater proportion of 
dolomites has been noticed. It can be explai ned by a 
greater volume of dolom ite in the structure of the Slo­
venian Sneznik area. Between Lividraga and Gerovo, 
the Sneznik glacier also formed a lateral moraine, abo­
ve Mali Klanac. All moraines are today covered with 
vegetat ion, which is probably the reason for their late 
discovery. 

Erratic blocks represent the moraine material which 
is, because of its large dimensions, often accumulated 
in terminal depressions or in glacial valleys. Examples 
of these can be found in the terminal depression 
Gasparac and Segine, but the largest examples of erratic 
blocks have been fo und in the area of frontal and 
ground moraines of Lividraga. Erratic blocks are main­
ly composed of the limestones (Jurassic limestones). 
Their mass exceeds several tens of tons. The relative 
roundness of the erratic blocks shows eros ion as the 
consequence of transport (Fig. 9). 

3. PALAEOCLIMATIC RECONSTRUCTION 

Bcsides re lief condit ions the climatic ones had a 
great influence on the development of glacial processes. 
Here we shall primarily regard the air temperatures and 
the quantity of precipita tion. As a base for reconstruc­
tion of the palaeoclimate of the Risnjak mountain mas­
sif, we have taken the data of the following meteorolo­
gical stations: Delnice (698 m of the height above sea-

Fig. 9 Erratic block near Lividraga (its mass exceeds several lens at 
tons). 

level), Lokve-dam (723 m above sea-level), Parg (863 
m above sea-level), Lividraga (935 m above sea-level), 
and data of the totalizer on Risnjak (1,420 m above sea­
level). The air temperature and the quantity of precipi­
tation were observed in the period from 1981 to 1994, 
and the average values relate to that period. The excep­
tions are the meteorological station Lividraga which 
stopped working in 1984 and the data of the totalizer on 
Risnjak for the period 1963-1993. 

3.1. PALAEOTEMPERATURES 

On the basis of Poser's mathematical reconstruction 
for the Pannonian plain ', KLEIN (1953) calculated the 
average monthly and annual temperatures or Zagreb 
during the maximum of the WOrm glacial. The differ­
ence between POSER's (1947) and KLEIN 's (1953) 
reconstruction of the temperatures are presented in 
Table 2. 

The temperatures for the meteorological sLations of 
the Risnjak area (Table 3) have been calculated on the 
same principle (taking into account differences between 
today's and the Wilrm temperatures of Zagreb). 

It is necessary to point out that this reconstruction is 
based upon taday 's relief forms and altitude relations 
which were considerably changed in the Wlinn because 
the sea-level was about 100 metres lower. A greater 
degree of continentality conditioned lower air tempera­
tures, and the ice itself wi th its mass and thickness in 
the top part of the Risnjak mountain massif, caused a 
decrease of the air temperature. 

In order to get a more complete picture of tempera­
ture relations today and in the Wurm, the average annu­
al temperature of the Veliki Risnjak summit has been 
calculated for today and for the age of the last glacia-

3 Having observed the intensity of the frozen soil melting in the Pannonian plain, POSER (1947) calculated the average monthly air tempera­
tures during the Wunn g lacial. The average annual temperature amounted to -2.0°C, which shows that in the Pleistocene the Pannonian plain 
belonged to the periglacial zones. Later research of PEeSI (196 1) in Hungary, KAISER (1961) in the neighbourhood of Belgrade, MALEZ 
(1965) in Slavonia, BOGNAR (1975, 1976) and ZEREMSK I (1977) affirmed the results of Poser 's analysis. 



Uogllar & 1'llIgovccki: Gbeiation T",ee.~ in the Area of thl! Ris lljak Mountaill Massif 275 

Zagreb II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII Year 

Today 0.6 2.2 7.4 11.3 16.2 19.3 21.5 20.7 16.8 11.7 6.2 2.8 11.4 

WQrm -13.0 -12.0 -8 .0 -3.0 3.0 8.0 11.0 9.0 3.0 -2.0 -8.0 -12.0 -2.0 

Differ. 13 .6 14.2 15.4 14.3 13.2 11.3 10 .5 11.7 13 .8 13.7 14.2 14.8 13.4 

Table 2 Differences between mat hetTlalical temperature reeonstntc ti on of the max im um Wurm and IOd3Y'S tempe ratures or Zagreb, arter BOG­
NA R el OIL (199 1). 

II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII Year 

Oelnice 

Today -1.3 -1.7 2.4 6.9 11.6 14.6 17.3 16.9 13.3 8.8 2.9 0.2 7 .1 

Wurm -14.9 -15.9 -13 .0 -7.4 -1.6 3.3 6.8 5.2 -0.5 -4 .9 -11.3 -14.6 -6 .3 

lokve-dam 

Today -1.7 -1.8 2. 1 5.7 10.8 13.9 16.8 16.2 12.7 8.1 2.7 -0.1 7. 1 

WOrm -15.3 -16.0 -13.3 -8.6 -2.4 2.6 6.3 4.5 -1.1 -5.6 -11.5 -14.9 -6.3 

Parg 

Today -1.2 -1.7 2.3 5.8 10.9 13.7 16.9 16.2 12.7 7.9 2.5 0.1 7.2 

WOrm -14 .8 -15.9 -13 .1 -8.5 -2.3 2.4 6.4 4.5 -1 .1 -5.8 -11.7 -14.7 -6.2 

lividraga 

Today -3.7 -4.5 0.9 4.0 8.9 12 .5 15.4 14.0 12.0 7.7 1.0 -1.1 5.8 

WOrm -17.3 -18.7 -14.5 -10.3 -4.3 1.2 4.9 2.3 -1.8 -6.0 -13.2 -15.9 -7.6 

Tabl !.! 3 Average month ly (md annua l air temperatu res ror the meteorological stat ion~ Deln ice, Lo kve-dam. Parg and Li \' idraga ( 19R 1-1994 and 
Ihe la~1 19R I -1 984) loday and during the Wiinn glac iation. 

tion by mea ns of the verti cal temperature graciienl 4 

(Table 4). 

3.2. PALAEOPRECIPITATION 

Using thc samc actua li sm principle according 10 
which today's clima tic c ircum stances arc the key for 
reconstruction of the climate in the past, the quantity o f 
prec ipitation can also be calcu lated. On a map o f 
Europe, KLE1N ( 1953) presents the quantities or pre­
cipiullion during the maximum or the WOrm glacial 
rc latedlO today's quantity. Differences for the area of 
the Ri snjak mountai n massi f w~s ~bout 70%, i. e. the 
quantity of precipi tation was abollt 30% less Crable 5). 

Over the broader Risnjak region, precipitation has 
been measured by mcan s of a classic rain-gauge , and 
the quoted values obtai ned in that way. By use o f a 
rain-gauge with a net (in the Ve1cbit area - Zavizan) the 
average value increases ror 249% (KIR IGIN, 1967). Ir 
we suppose that the increase on Ri snjak was approx i­
matcly the same, the quantity of precipitation would be 
as prescnted in Table 6. 

Very low temperatures in the Pleistocene, and a lar­
ge amount of precipitatio n (main ly data of the raill -

gauge with a net) had a significanl influence on the 
deve lopm ent of glacia l proccsses. When we take into 
account the nort hern exposure, and great relie r dissec­
tion o f Ri snjak, it is understandable that there were a ll 
the necessary conditi ons for the acc umulation or large 
quantiti es or ice, which, while moving, produced a seri ­
es of accumu lative and erosive g lacial featu res. 

4. nlE PLEISTOCENE SNOW-LINE 

For the area of the Risnjak moun tain mass if the 
Pleistoccne snow-line has becn calcula ted by means of 
Hofe r's method , accord in g to which the snow-line is 
fix ed as the arithm eti c mean between the averagc 
heigh t or the rid ge, limiting the glaciers acc umu lation 
area, and the lower height of the g lacie rs limit -
moraines (HOFER, 1879). This mel hod is advisable ror 
short glacie rs, certain s lopes or ex pos it ions, so we 
speak about a local topographi c snow-linc. In the slud­
ied region two g lacial sou rce areas have been rix ed 
(Smrekovac and RadeSevo), and the local topographic 
snow-line calculated ror each of them according (0 the 
aforementioned approach. 

~ Vcrticat temperature grad ient has been calculaled by means or [he known values o r the .tir temperature fo r fhe meteorologic;]1 stalions Detnicc 
(69~ III :lbo\'c sea-Icvel) and Li vi draga (935 m above sea-level), and it amount s [0 0.55°C ror every 100 m or elevat ion. 



UQ I.JCOIOgl<1 Lro<ltl(;a :'lUlL 

Height (m) 600 700 BOO 900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 1,400 1,500 1,52B 

Today 

WOrm 

7.65 

-5.75 

7.10 

-6.30 

6.55 

-6.85 

6.00 

-7.40 

5.45 4.90 4.35 3.80 3.25 2.70 2.55 

-7.95 -8.50 -9.05 -9.60 -10.15 -10.70 -10.85 

Table 4 Average annual ai r temperature of Vcliki Ri snjak (1,528 Ill) today and in the Pleistocene has been ca lculated by means of (he vertical 
temperature grad ient (O.55°C/I 00 Ill). 

II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII Year 

Delnice 

Today 176.2 167.6 179.3 154.6 170.8 179.8 90.5 128.8 155.4 291.0 237.6 245.5 2,177.0 

WOrm 123.3 117.3 125.5 108.2 119.6 125.9 63.4 90.2 108.8 203.7 166.3 171.8 1,524.0 

lokve-dam 

Today 176.8 140.0 160.3 156.3 145.3 173.1 68.5 120.0 195.9 279.5 250 .5 259.5 2,125.7 
WOrm 123.7 98.0 112.2 108.4 101.7 121.2 48.0 84.0 137.1 195 .7 175.4 181.7 1,488.1 

Parg 

Today 113.9 104.5 121.9 133.0 140.6 161.4 82.9 138.1 171.6 259.0 180.0 164.4 1,771.5 
WOrm 79.7 73.2 85.3 93.1 98.4 113.0 58.0 96.7 120.1 181.3 126.0 115.1 1,239.9 

Uvidraga 

Today 266.0 184.6 286.8 179.1 317.7 230.8 70.3 184.4 352.1 512.5 292.2 886.4 3,962.6 

WOrm 186.2 129.2 200.8 125.4 222.4 161.6 49.2 129.1 246.5 358.8 204.5 620.5 2,634.2 

Risnjak 

Today 3,358.2 

WUrm 2,350.7 

Table 5 Average annual quantit ies of precipitation today (Livid raga [981 - 1984: Delnice, Lokve-dam, Parg 1981 1994: Risnjak [963-1993) and 
reconstruction for the maximum of the WUnn, 

Meteorological Classic rain-gauge Rain-gauge with a net Rain-gauge with a net 

station (today) (today) (reconstruction for the WOrm) 

Delnice 2,177.0 5,420.7 3,794.5 

Lokve-dam 2,125.7 5,293.0 3,705.1 

Parg 1,771.5 4,411.0 3,087.7 

Lividraga 3,762.6 9,368.9 6,558.2 

Risnjak 3,358.2 8,361 .9 5,853.3 

Table 6 Quantities of precipitation in the meteoro logical stations Delnice, Lokve-dam, Parg and Liv idraga , and on the Riwjak summit measured 
by means of a classic rain-gauge, and reconstruction for measurments by means of a rain-gauge with a ne1 (today and in the Wlirm). 

4.1. THE SMREKOVAC AREA 

Average height of the ridge: 1,349 m (Northern Mali 
Risnjak 1,434 m - Veliki Risnjak 1,528 m - South­
ern Mali Risnjak 1,448 m - Janjicarski yrh 1,3 14 m -

Vcliki Bukoyac 1,266 m - Mali Bukoyac 1,263 m -

hill 1,190 m) 
Lower height of Ihe glaciers limit - moraine Segine: 950 

m 

Local snow-lille: 1,150 m 

4.2. THE RADESEVO AREA 
(chiefly the area of Croatian Snjcinik) 

Average height of the ridge: l ,4 12 m (Lazacka glava 
1,426 m - Croat ian Snjeinik 1,50S m - Veliko 
Radeseyo 1,363 m - hilll,3S1 m - Cajtnik 1,416 m ­

Veliki Risnjak 1,528 m - Northern Mali Risnjak 
1,434 m) 

Lower height of Ihe glaciers limit - moraine Lazac: 
1,060 m, 

Local snow-line: 1,236 m 

Lower heighl of Ihe glaciers limit - moraine Gasparac: 
940 m 



Bognar & I'rugovci::ki: Glaciation Traces in the Area of thc Risnjak MOUlllain Massif 

Local snow-line: 1,176 m 

In the studied area some glacial erosion and accu­
mulation forms, according to their location and exposi­
tion, suggcst the conclusion that they are not the result 
of the glaciers with the starting point in the area of the 
Risnjak mountain massif, but their emergence is con­
nected with the work of the glaciers from Sloven ian 
Sneznik. As the research has so far been linked only to 
the Risnjak mountain massif, the local topographic 
snow-line of the Sneznik glaciers was taken from the 
work of SIFRER (1959) dealing with the problems of 
the Pleistocene glaciat ion on Notranjski Sneznik. 

4.3. THE SLOVENSKI SNEZNIK AREA 

Sllow~limil: 1.250~1.300 m (SIFRER, 1959) 

The local snow- lin es in the area of the Risnjak 
mountain massif in the Pleistocene were about 100-150 
m lower than on the Siovenian Sneznik (accord ing to 
SIFRER, 1959) and about 150 ~200 m lower than on 
Velcbit (according to BOGNAR ct aI., 1991 ). Such a 
relatively lower snow-li ne can be explained by the 
northern exposure, relief protection and greater quantity 
of precipitation on Risnjak. 

5. RECENT SNOW-LINE 

On the basis of the prev iously defined Pleistocene 
snow-line and vertical temperature gradient , (between 
the meteorological station in the valley and the one 
placed very high, as close to the Pleistocene snow-line 
as possible), it is possible to calculate the Recent snow­
line (the height above which conditions exist for glacial 
processes today). On the basis of observation, the 
snow-line of some glac iers in Europe (MESSERLI, 
1967) has been defined, after that the average monthly 
temperature of the warmest month in the snow-linc area 
was calculatcd, as 4.SoC. While calculat ing the average 
value, according to Messcrli, a mistake from ±1.3 to 
±1.4°C is possible, which corresponds to the height of 
+200 m of the snow-line. Following the same principle 
the Recent snow-line has been calculated for Risnjak. 

The avcrage val ue of the snow-line in the Risnjak 
arca in the Pleistocene amounted to 1,190 m of the 
height above sea-level; the temperature of thc warmest 
month in Li vidraga (935 m) was IS.4°C, and by appli­
cation of the already known vertical temperature gradi­
ent of 0.S5°CjlOO m, the temperature of the warmest 
month in the Pleistocene snow-line area was calculated. 
It amounts to 14.0°C. The Recent snow-line was calcu­
latcd by means of thc tcmpcrature fall of 0.55°C with 
every 100 m. Today, in the Risnjak area, it would be at 
the height of 2,890 m (then the tempcrature of the 
wannest month in the snow-line area amounts to 
4.65°C - what corresponds to Messerli's method). As 
thc Risnjak mass if is far below that height, only 
periglacial erosion is possible in that area today. 

2J7 

6. CONCLUSION 

New study in the area of the Croatian Dinaridcs dis­
covered a series of traces of Pleistocene glaciation on 
many mountain rangcs and massi fs. The Risnjak moun­
tain massif and the Croatian Snjeznik mountain range 
arc two of them. 

By means of morphomctric analysis, reconstruction 
of the palaeoclimatic conditions, and fixing of the spa­
tial arrangement of the glacial rcl icf forms, wc can con­
clude that glaciation took place in the part of the Ri s­
njak mountain massif above 1,150 m above sca-level, 
and in a part of the area of the Croatian Snjeznik moun­
tain range, then in a part of the Obmc range, and that it 
was in spatial connection with the g laciers from the 
Slovcnian Sneznik. 

This suggests the fac t that the Pleistocene glaciation 
of thc Dinaric mountain systcm in Croatia was far more 
wide-sprcad and prominent than was previously tho­
ught. 

Therefore further research on all mountain massifs 
and rangcs above J ,300- 1 ,400 metres is necessary in 
ordcr to completc thc geoscienti fic and general natural­
scientific cognitions about the form, intensity and tem ­
poral duration of the glaciation in Croatia. 

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Manuscript received Apri l 14, 1997. 
Revised manuscript accepted November 10, 1997.