Vipava fault (Slovenia)

Abstract

During mapping of the already accomplished Razdrto - Senožeče section of motorway and geologic surveying of construction operations of the trunk road between Razdrto and Vipava in northwestern part of External Dinarides on the southwestern slope of Mt. Nanos, called Rebrnice, a steep NW-SE striking fault was recognized, situated between the Predjama and the Raša faults. The fault was named Vipava fault after the Vipava town. An analysis of subrecent gravitational slips at Rebrnice indicates that they were probably associated with the activity of this fault. Unpublished results of a repeated levelling line along the regional road passing across the Vipava fault zone suggest its possible present activity. It would be meaningful to verify this by appropriate geodetic measurements, and to study the actual gravitational slips at Rebrnice. The association between tectonics and gravitational slips in this and in similar extreme cases in the areas of Alps and Dinarides points at the need of complex studying of geologic proceses.