GEOTOUR & IRSE 2012.pdf - Fakulta BERG - TUKE

GEOTOUR & IRSE 2012
HYDROGEOLOGICAL FIELD TRIP ON THE OPEN KARST OF BÜKK MOUNTAINS
AND ON THE THERMALKARST OF BÜKK REGION (NORTH HUNGARY)
László Lénárt
University of Miskolc
e-mail: hgll@uni-miskolc.hu
SUMMARY
Based on the EU Water Framework Directive, out of the 185 subsurface water bodies in Hungary, 14
are located under uncovered karst, and 15 are located under covered karst. The total areas are 9.200
and 22.300 km 2 respectively, which accounts for 34 % of the area of the entire country. There are two
open karst areas in the Bükk Mountains and there are two thermal karst water bodies in relation with
the Bükk Mountains. The Bükk HU_kt.2.1 thermal karst water body is the second largest in Hungary
with its 4.300 km 2 area.
Cold and tepid water karst springs can be found in the Bükk and at its brim. Tepid and warm karst
water springs are located at its surroundings; and there are wells yielding warm and hot water. There
are over 1000 shaft caves, sinkholes, spring caves and caves with entrances at both ends in the Bükk
Mountains. Many dolines can be found in the Bükk as well; in certain areas their number is high.
Also, there are a number of canyons in the Bükk Mountains. Flowing water bodies on the surface are
most typical at the rim of the mountains. These creeks have smaller and larger waterfalls. There aren‟t
many lakes in the area.
The most significant hydrogeological structures are the springs, sinkholes, dolines, caves and
waterfalls in the Bükk Mountains. In the surrounding area the most important are the rivers, lakes,
wells, including the thermal karst water yielded by the wells, and the deposits created by it. Some of
these still exist, but some have disappeared due to human activity or natural forces.
The thermal karst water is mainly mineral or medicinal water, its usage is recreational. There is
evidence that thermal karst water had been used for bathing even before the times of the Turkish
occupation.
INTRODUCTION
There are thousands of hydrogeological objects in the Bükk thermal karst and Bükk
mountains, proving very interesting for both professionals and laymen alike.
It is not possible to give a detailed introduction of all of them in present paper due to scope
limitations, but we will provide a comprehensive overview and a few examples.
Unfortunately, due to the same reason, we can't attach maps showing the exact location of the
karst hydrogeological objects discussed but we are including a few photographs of them. In
our opinion, a detailed discussion should be done as an individual publication, as we've done
so in the past. (Since the number of curiosities have increased and the ways of publication are
much smoother today, it is even more reasonable to create a detailed publication of our
material.)
Most of the hydrogeological objects in the Bükk and its area are strongly related to karst
water, so we will mainly discuss karst hydrogeological natural values.
Let‟s follow the path of water and list those natural value groups and their members that are
worthy of our attention. (Please note that to physically approach these objects can be at times
difficult. There are some which can be viewed from a car, but in some cases a long hike is
needed, or we would have to go underground into a cave. Most of these spectacularities are
free to view but in some instances it must be paid for.) In many cases, for example regarding
wells or springs, it is not the water itself that we will see but the natural formations the water
created, or the structures made by humans near or on top of the upwelling water.
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