Professional paper

Brgudac – 10 godina u potrazi za podzemnom Rječinom

Lovel Kukuljan orcid.org/0000-0001-5321-8335 ; Speleološka udruga Estavela, Kastav

Abstract

The Rječina spring is one of the largest karst springs on the northern Croatian coast and represents an invaluable natural resource of drinking water for Rijeka and the wider Rijeka region. As a karst spring, it is characterized by high flows in rainy periods and drying up in dry periods. The watershed of the spring includes an uninhabited mountain area in the extreme west of Gorski kotar, and reaches all the way to Snežnik in Slovenia. The existence of a powerful spring at the foot of the karst plateau raises the hope that the caves and pits found on the surface 300 meters above the spring are not only "dead ends", but also potential underground routes that reach the underground channels of the Rječina river. This is precisely the guiding thread that motivates speleological exploration in this area.
That karst plateau in the immediate hinterland of the source of the Rječina is known as Brgudac, and the most speleological exploration has been undertaken here for the last ten years. Brgudac is bordered to the south by the cliff of the Rječina canyon, and to the north and east by the torrential stream Zala. Speleological exploration was also carried out in neighboring areas - further north, on the slopes of Suho and Široko hills, east, on the slopes of Vršina, and southeast on the stretch from Brgudac to Grobničko polje. As these areas naturally connect to Brgudac, they are treated together in the article. The first speleological explorations of this area were carried out in parallel with the hydrogeological investigations of the source of the Rječina during the second half of the 20th century. In the period of the most comprehensive speleological research from 2013 until today, 76 caves were explored by the speleological association "Estavela", and the total number of known caves is 83. The caves are mostly smaller in size, but the following stand out: the longest cave with as many as five entrances, The cave system Mala jama – Dvojama – S-7, and El Kapital with a depth of 104 m, caves deeper than 70 m ¬– Zaradovanjska jama and Žmuj vina, and a few objects significant by other criteria than dimensions. The aim of this work is to summarize the results of speleological explorations so far, to contribute to the connection between the understanding of the hydrogeology of the Rječina spring and speleological phenomena, and to lay the foundation for all future speleological research in this area.

Keywords

speleological explorations; Rječina spring hinterland; Rijeka hinterland karst

Hrčak ID:

308859

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/308859

Publication date:

13.9.2023.

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