Geological and Geomorphological Characteristics of Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (Northern Pindos National Park, Greece) and Karst-Related Social Processes of the Region

Due to unfavourable natural conditions (poor soils, lack of water, special relief conditions), karst terrains have always been relatively sparsely populated, and they have been seriously affected by recent depopulation processes. However, the creation of national parks on karst terrains and the recent increase of (geo)tourism may influence and even turn these population trends. Our study examines the validity of this statement in the context of Vikos Gorge and Tymphi Mountain (NW Greece). Geological and geomorphological values are presented first, including Vikos Gorge, the glaciokarst landscape of Tymphi and the particular spherical rock concretions. Digital terrain analysis is used to obtain scientifically based, reliable morphometric parameters about Vikos Gorge, and it is found that the maximum gorge depth is 1144 m, the maximum width is 2420 m, and the maximum of depth/width ratio is 0.76. Thereafter, rural depopulation trends are examined and it is found that this region (Zagori) is seriously affected by depopulation. It is observed that there are differences among settlements, and a relative stabilization of population is sensible in only few settlements around Vikos Gorge, which are linked to tourism. As for nature protection, while at the beginning conflicts were perceptible among management and local people, now new conflicts are emerging between growing tourism and nature protection goals. Key words: gorge morphometry, glaciokarst, spherical concretions, rural depopulation, geotourism, national park. Kraske oblike in s krasom povezane družbene spremembe na obmocju soteske Vikos ter v gorovju Timfi (narodni park Severni Pindi, Grcija) Zaradi neugodnih naravnih razmer, kot so manj rodovitna prst, pomanjkanje vode in svojstvena oblikovanost povrsja, je krasko povrsje od nekdaj relativno redko poseljeno, v zadnjem obdobju pa je podvrženo tudi procesom odseljevanja. V zadnjem casu je vse vec tudi geoturizma in z njim povezanega ustanavljanja geoparkov, ki trend depopulacije lahko tudi obrnejo. Pricujoca studija se nanasa na vrednotenje omenjenih procesov na primeru doline Vikos in gorovja Timfi (SZ Grcija). Najprej so predstavljene geomorfoloske in geoloske znacilnosti obmocja, kjer so izpostavljene znacilnosti soteske Vikos, glaciokras gorovja Timfi in za to obmocje znacilne okrogle skalne konkrecije. Digitalni model visin je bil namenjen morfometricni analizi soteske Vikos. Ta je pokazala, da je njena najvecja globina 1144 m, najvecja sirina 2420 m, najvecje razmerje med globino in sirino pa 0,76. V nadaljevanju so analizirane znacilnosti odseljevanja s podeželja, katerim je najbolj podvrženo obmocje Zagori. Demografski vzorci kažejo na razlike med posameznimi naselji, kjer je stevilo prebivalcev stabilno le v nekaterih naseljih v bližini turisticno zanimive soteske Vikos. Z ustanovitvijo parka so se pojavili tudi konflikti. V zacetku so se navzkrižja interesov pojavila med lokalnim prebivalstvom in upravljavci, sedaj pa se konflikt pojavlja ob istocasnem narascanju turizma in želji po varovanju narave. Kjucne besede: morfometrija soteske, glaciokras, okrogle konkrecije, depopulacija podeželja, geoturizem, narodni park.