Geological structure of the region north of Šmarješke Toplice

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review geological conditions of the northren region of Šmarješke Toplice in Lower Carniola, Slovenia. In a sedimentological sense, the investigated area is situated in a transitional zone between External and Internal Dinarides, which is characterized by the migration of the southwestern border of pelagic development of the Internal Dinarides during the Mesozoic era. Considering the structural classification of this part of Slovenia, the mapped area lies between two tectonic regions - the Sava folds in the north and the Krško basin to the southeast in the broader Mid-Hungarian zone. The result of this transitional conditions is a very complex geological structure, both in a tectonic as well as in a stratigraphic aspect. The oldest rocks in in mapped area (about 6 km2) are represented by Upper Triassic dolomites, succeded by Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceus limestones. The further sedimentation is represented by the clastic sedimentation of Upper Cretaceus (marlstones, sandstones and breccias), which is in some parts developed as a flysh sequence.