Travertine mound and cave in a village of Laski, Silesian-Cracow Upland

Abstract

Kopuła trawertynowa i jaskinia we wsi Laski, Wyżyna Śląsko-Krakowska The paper deals with Holocene travertine mound occurring near Olkusz, southern Poland. The mound developed within a spring zone maintained by ascending groundwater, which drained the Muschelkalk carbonates. The travertines formed by intense calcification of the moss vegetation colonizing the spring area. The obtained radiocarbon ages indicate that the mound developed in early and middle Holocene times. Outwashing of the underlying sandy deposits resulted in a breaking of the travertine mound and involved development of a small cave within the mound.