Croatia’s unique geography is due to its limestone, known as karst, which forms the Dinaric Karst landscape. The limestone is used in construction and industrial works, and is also found in toothpaste and gardening. The porous nature of the limestone has created unique environments for flora and geological formations such as rivers, waterfalls, and underground caves. Croatian limestone has been used in structures for millennia, including the foundations of Venice and the White House.
Every country has its fame and Croatia is a country famous all over the world for its unique geography. A significant part of the Croatian landscape is composed of limestone, a sedimentary rock made up largely of calcium carbonate (calcite). Croatian limestone is also known as karst, a term used to characterize the country’s arid highlands. The most famous karst landscape, defined by arid and fractured plains of Croatian limestone, is the Dinaric Karst. The Dinaric Karst is an extensive landscape formation that occupies a large area of 100 kilometers along the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Croatia has three main regions along the rocky coast in this area: Istria, Dalmatia and North Coast. The Croatian limestone found along this area is considered to be the classic karst, belonging to the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, with an average thickness of 1.24 to 1.86 miles (2-3 kilometers) thick and 6 to 1.24 miles (1-2 kilometers ) thick, respectively.
As a sedimentary rock, limestone forms over a very long period of time through the stratification of sediments. Through heat and pressure, loose fragments of silt, minerals and shells, among other things, are compressed into a single conglomerate. The primary source of calcium carbonate in Croatian limestone is the shells of marine organisms. Pure limestone appears to be a white or off-white color. Rock is easy to cut and carve, making it an ideal material for elaborate carvings. However, Croatian limestone is also heavy to harvest and thus considered an expensive market commodity.
In general use, limestone is found as a catalyst material in industrial works, used to increase the hardening rate of mortars, plasters and concrete. Often, the solid foundation of roads contain limestone as an aggregate. Toothpaste and glass can contain limestone sediments and limestone is also used in gardening to neutralize excessively acidic soil.
Croatia’s extensive karst landscapes are unique to the country, simply due to the sheer scale of the formations. The landscape has created unique environments for a variety of flora and geological formations such as rivers, waterfalls and underground caves and caverns. While the limestone is durable and heavy, it is also porous, making their landscape formations some of the best oil deposits in the world.
Croatian limestone has also lent its properties to architectural inspiration. Croatian limestone has been an important part of many Croatian and European structures for millennia. The first Roman quarries have been found along the coast and areas such as Istria and the island of Brac have supplied tons of limestone for projects around the world in the past and continue to do so today.
A type of Croatian limestone called “Pietra d’Istria” or Kirmenjak was exported to Italy to literally build the foundations of the city of Venice. This hard limestone is often mistaken for marble. Kirmenjak is particularly resistant to water, making it perfect for an underwater city base. The same hard limestone is used to pave the famous streets of Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast. Even the White House in Washington DC drew on a type of Croatian limestone to build its white columns. However, since limestone is partially soluble in acid, similar buildings containing limestone and found in heavily polluted cities are susceptible to damage if acid rain forms there.
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