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Going beyond the surface in the Karst plateau
GeoKarst is a new EU-funded project highlighting a unique landscape of caves, gorges and medieval villages near Trieste. Explore the new cross-border geopark in Italy and Slovenia
posted by ShooBoo on Jan 22, 2026 at 11:20 AM
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There's a fabulous chapter about the karst in this area in the excellent book Underland: A Deep Time Journey, by Robert McFarlane. About the geography, some of the history of the post-WW2 partisan fighting that happened there, and some contemporary amateur explorers practicing "romantic science" by mapping the subterranean rivers and passages.
posted by entropone at 11:52 AM
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Amazing geography, scenery and history. I want to go!
The Parovel family is proud to boast its distinctively Karst pedigree to me: three generations of the family were born in the same village, yet their grandparents were born in the Austro-Hungarian empire, the parents in Italy, and the children in Slovenia.
posted by evilmomlady at 4:10 PM
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Nothing would make me happier than to go caving in that area. The whole eastern edge of the Adriatic looks just wonderful. Then to the east, there's another deep cave region in Abkhazia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. I don't really know the specific geology of that region, but I guess the African plate is pushing up all the mountains in southern Europe. Lots of limestone also in the Pyrenees and French alps. Most of the deepest caves in the world are stretched across there. Glad to see some of it getting officially protected. Karst has so many fragile, isolated ecosystems.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:42 PM
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