Landslides in the Carpathian Curvature Paleogene Flysch. Particularieties

Abstract

The folded formations of the Curvature area Paleogene Flysch generate a particular morphology which shows up in the wide diversity of primary or secondary landforms. These landforms, the work of longer subaerial evolution and of present day neotectonic movements which accelerate erosion, depend on the varied resistance of sandstone rock to climate rather than on the narrow-folded structure itself. The relief being young, cement and granulometry are best revealed by landsliding which permanently maintains instability on slopes. As a consequence, most landslides entail an appreciable transfer of material from the slope to the valley, barring it and favouring the formation of small lakes behind the natural dams. This type of landslides has a high incidence on the landscape, as natural storage lakes usually lasting for more than one generation. A few case-studies of the marginal flysch in the Curvature area (the lakes Ciocul Paltinului on the Bâsca Fӑrӑ Gale River; Negru Lake on the Zӑbala and a former lake on the Bâsca Rozilei, no longer visible today), formed by the landsliding in the Ruptura settlement area offer some information on the morphodynamical features of these landslides.