Karst of eastern Herzegovina, the Dubrovnik littoral and western Montenegro

摘要

As the region of Eastern Herzegovina and the Boka Kotorska (Kotor Bay) area is one of the most highly karstified areas in the world, its hydrogeological properties, typical for karst, are extremely exposed. The main erosion base-levels for surface and underground waters of that region are: the Neretva River valley in the west, the Adriatic Sea and Dubrovnik littoral in the south and Boka Kotorska in the east. At the same time it belongs to one of the most investigated karst regions in the world known as the Dinaric Karst. The basic theories related to the nature of karst are based on the multidisciplinary and long-lasting investigation of this particular region. World famous karstologists such as Cvijic, Grund, Katzer and many others created crucial theories of karstology based on investigations and analysis of the Dinaric Karst. Many large and successfully constructed structures (dams, reservoirs and tunnels) of the region also became the basis for the development of engineering karstology. Massive karst investigation works were also performed during the twentieth century. The accumulated data and knowledge have been presented at many scientific conferences and has also appeared in many publications. The text below presents in brief, the general natural properties of the region and represents only a small part of the available data.