GeolCarp_Vol66_No3_245

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, JUNE 2015, 66, 3, 245—254 doi: 10.1515/geoca-2015-0023

Quaternary faulting in the Tatra Mountains, evidence from

cave morphology and fault-slip analysis

JACEK SZCZYGIEŁ

Department of Fundamental Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland;

j_szczygiel@tlen.pl

(Manuscript received June 2, 2014; accepted in revised form March 12, 2015)

Abstract: Tectonically deformed cave passages in the Tatra Mts (Central Western Carpathians) indicate some fault
activity during the Quaternary. Displacements occur in the youngest passages of the caves indicating (based on previous
U-series dating of speleothems) an Eemian or younger age for those faults, and so one tectonic stage. On the basis of
stress analysis and geomorphological observations, two different mechanisms are proposed as responsible for the de-
velopment of these displacements. The first mechanism concerns faults that are located above the valley bottom and at
a short distance from the surface, with fault planes oriented sub-parallel to the slopes. The radial, horizontal extension
and vertical

which is identical with gravity, indicate that these faults are the result of gravity sliding probably caused

by relaxation after incision of valleys, and not directly from tectonic activity. The second mechanism is tilting of the
Tatra Mts. The faults operated under WNW-ESE oriented extension with

plunging steeply toward the west. Such a

stress field led to normal dip-slip or oblique-slip displacements. The faults are located under the valley bottom and/or
opposite or oblique to the slopes. The process involved the pre-existing weakest planes in the rock complex: (i) in
massive limestone mostly faults and fractures, (ii) in thin-bedded limestone mostly inter-bedding planes. Thin-bedded
limestones dipping steeply to the south are of particular interest. Tilting toward the N caused the hanging walls to move
under the massif and not toward the valley, proving that the cause of these movements was tectonic activity and not
gravity.

Key words: neotectonics, Quaternary faults, stress tensor, uplift, cave, Tatra Mts, Western Carpathians.

Introduction

The  Tatra  Mts  form  the  northernmost  part  of  the  Central
Western  Carpathians  and  belong  to  the  Tatric—Fatric—Ve-
poric  nappe  system  (Plašienka  2003).  The  Tatra  Mts  are
composed of a Paleozoic crystalline basement which is over-
lain  by  Mesozoic  sedimentary  rocks  to  the  north  and  west
(Nemčok et al. 1994; Fig. 1). The sedimentary cover consists
of the Tatric (“autochthonous” sedimentary cover, Czerwone
Wierchy  Nappe,  Giewont  Nappe,  Široká  Nappe),  Fatric
(Krížna Nappe) and Hronic units (Choč Nappe – Nemčok et
al.  1994).  In  the  north  central  part  of  the  Tatra  Mts,  in  the
Bystra  Valley  and  so-called  Czerwone  Wierchy  massif
(Fig. 1b),  the  Tatric  units  are  exposed  for  karstification.
Most of the caves in the Tatra Mts are located here, including
the deepest and one of the longest caves.

Quaternary tectonics in the Tatra Mts have been investigated

but  previous  research  was  based  mostly  on  remote  sensing
(e.g.  Perski  2008),  or  on  fault  geometry  and  fold  orientation
analysis  from  the  Tatra  edges  and  surrounding  units  (e.g.
Sperner  et  al.  2002;  Pešková  et  al.  2009;  Vojtko  et  al.  2010;
Tokarski et al. 2012; Králiková et al. 2014). Quaternary defor-
mations  in  the  Tatra  caves  were  recognized  by  Wójcik  &
Zwoliński (1959), Grodzicki (1979), Fryś et al. (2006), Szczy-
gieł (2012), Szczygieł et al. (2015). Those studies focused on
cave  morphology,  mainly  on  displacements  in  the  cross-sec-
tions of cave passages and dealt more with cave development
rather  than  with  neotectonic  movements  in  a  more  regional
approach. Neotectonics is defined as recent movements gener-

ated  by  the  on-going  tectonic  evolution  of  the  massif.  In  the
Tatra Mts this refers to the Late Pliocene—Quaternary. In other
regions  from  around  the  world,  Quaternary  deformations  in
caves  are  used  as  indicators  for  tectonic  activity  including
seismic  activity  (e.g.  Becker  et  al.  2006,  2012;  Plan  et  al.
2010; Šebela et al. 2010; Briestenský et al. 2011; Camelbeeck
et al. 2012). However, it seems that not all morphological fea-
tures  described  as  the  effects  of  neotectonic  movements  are
accurately interpreted. For example, breakdowns are not al-
ways a result of tectonic movement, they can also be a result
of  gravity  breakdowns,  especially  in  caves  developed  along
the (inactive) fault zones (Szczygieł et al. 2015). Broken spe-
leothems are a frequent phenomenon in caves too but there are
many possible causes, including underground glaciers and ice
creep (Becker et al. 2006). Nevertheless, unquestionable proof
of movement taking place after cave formation is the displace-
ment  in  the  passage  profile.  This  paper  focuses  on  such  dis-
placement documented in the Tatra caves. In high mountains
such as the Tatra Mts the first trigger mechanism of morpho-
logical  deformation  to  be  considered  is  gravity.  However
some displacements were documented even 400 m under the
valley bottom. This allows for the assumption that some of the
faults could be affected by tectonic movements on a regional
scale and not just by local geomorphology. This article aims
to  explain  the  origin  of  Quaternary  faulting  located  in  the
Tatra Mts caves. The examined caves are situated in the main
karstic  regions  in  the  Polish  part  of  the  Tatra  Mts,  the  Czer-
wone Wierchy massif and the Bystra Valley. Geologically, the
caves studied are located in the Tatric Unit.

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Study area

Geological setting

The Western Carpathians extend between the Alps to the

west  and  the  Eastern  Carpathians  to  the  east  and  are  subdi-
vided  into  two  main  tectonic  units:  Outer  Carpathians  and
Central Western Carpathians separated by the so-called “Pie-
niny Klippen Belt”, a narrow zone of strongly deformed Me-
sozoic  to  Paleogene  rocks  (e.g.  Andrusov  et  al.  1973;
Birkenmajer  1986;  Fig. 1a).  The  Outer  Carpathians  consist
of  flysch  sediments  of  Lower  Cretaceous  to  Early  Miocene
age,  thrust  northward  during  the  Late  Oligocene  to  Middle
Miocene (Oszczypoko & Ślączka 1989). The Central West-
ern  Carpathians  are  composed  of  Variscan  basement  units
and  sedimentary  cover  deposited  from  the  Late  Permian  to
Early  Cretaceous.  Both  units  were  deformed  by  Cretaceous
nappe  tectonics  (e.g.  Kotański  1961;  Andrusov  et  al.  1973;
Plašienka 2003) and transgressively covered by the so-called
Nummulitic Eocene and Paleogene flysh that filled the Cen-
tral  Carpathian  Paleogene  Basin  (Radomski  1958).  In  the
Central  Western  Carpathians  during  the  Oligocene—Early

Miocene, a transpressional tectonic regime commenced ver-
tical  movements  (Burchart  1972;  Kováč  et  al.  1994).  The
paleostress  field  progressively  changed  followed  by  a  com-
pressional  (Early  Miocene)  to  a  strike-slip  tectonic  regime
(Middle to Late Miocene) and an extensional tectonic regime
(Pliocene to Quaternary – Pešková et al. 2009; Vojtko et al
2010; Králiková et al. 2014). The result of these movements
was  the  recent  morphology  by  uplift  and  unveiling  of  the
pre-alpine  crystalline  basement  and  the  Mesozoic  succes-
sions  and  deformation  of  Paleogene  flysch  (Mastella  1975;
Pešková  et  al.  2009;  Vojtko  et  al.  2010;  Králiková  et  al.
2014). This established the current geological architecture of
the Tatra Mts and their surroundings. The rate of uplift in the
Tatra Mts is highest along the sub-Tatric fault causing tilting
and  exposure  of  the  southern  and  south-eastern  part  of  the
Tatra block at first (Bac-Moszaszwili 1995; Anczkiewicz et
al. 2005; Králiková et al. 2014). Tilting has a W-E oriented
axis  and  since  the  Early  Miocene  the  Tatra  block  has  been
rotated  northward  by  varying  amounts  depending  on  the
study; by 20° (Piotrowski 1978), by 30—35° (Bac-Moszaszwili
1995) or by 40° (Jurewicz 2005; Szaniawski et al. 2012). Ex-
humation  of  the  Tatra  Mts  split  the  Central  Carpathian  Pa-

Fig. 1. a – Tectonic sketch of the Central Western Carpathians, after Żytko et al. (1989); black rectangle marks limits of Fig. 1b; location
of Fig. 1a against the background of the Carpathians in the upper left corner after Roca et al. (1995). b – Tectonic map of the Tatra Mts
(after Nemčok et al. 1994, modified) with location (white rectangles) of studied karst areas shown in details on Fig. 2. Explanations:
LS – Lodowe Spring, zc – Zimna Cave, cc – Czarna Cave.

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leogene  Basin  into  the  Liptov,  Poprad,  Podhale  basins  and
the Spišská Magura Mts (Fig. 1a) in the immediate vicinity.
Due to rotation of tectonic stress in the northernmost part of
the Pieniny Klippen Belt a pull-apart structure formed called
the  Orava-Nowy  Targ  basin  (Pomianowski  2003)  which  is
filled  by  a  Neogene  terrestrial  and  freshwater  sequence
(Watycha 1976).

The Paleozoic crystalline basement of the Tatric Unit is

composed  of  the  metamorphic  sequences  of  the  Western
Tatra Mts and granitoid rocks (Nemčok et al. 1994; Fig. 1b).
The sedimentary cover of the Tatric Unit consists of Upper
Permian—Lower Triassic terrestrial sandstone, conglomerate
and  shallow  marine  carbonates,  Middle  Triassic  to  Lower
Cretaceous  limestones  with  Upper  Jurassic  sandstone  and
conglomerate  interbeds,  and  Albian  to  Cenomanian  marls
and  sandstone.  The  complete  succession  occurs  in  the  au-
tochthonous sedimentary cover. The Czerwone Wierchy and
Giewont  nappes  contain  hiatuses  in  the  Lower  Triassic,
Upper  Triassic  to  Lower  Jurassic  and  Upper  Jurassic
(Rabowski  1959;  Kotański  1961,  1963;  Lefeld  et  al.  1985).
The strata of the autochthonous sedimentary cover dip about
40°  towards  the  north.  The  upper  parts  are  folded  (but  not

detached) in the parautochthon (Kotański 1961; Bac-Mosza-
szwili  et  al.  1984).  In  the  Czerwone  Wierchy  massif  the
parautochthon  is  situated  between  Czerwone  Wierchy  and
Giewont nappes (Bac-Moszaszwili et al. 1984; Fig. 2a). The
Czerwone Wierchy Nappe is composed of two sub-units, the
northern  –  Organy  and  the  southern  –  Ździary,  and  are
separated by the Organy Fault (Kotański 1963; Fig. 2a). The
Organy and Ździary sub-units have a syncline-style geome-
try in general. The dip of the axial surface of the folds is re-
cumbent  to  plunging  and  the  interlimb  angle  is  tight  to
isoclinal. The folds are open to the north and the lower limbs
are  steeply  to  gently  inclined  towards  the  north,  the  upper
limbs dip steeply southward. In some parts just one of those
main  limbs  is  preserved  (Rabowski  1959;  Kotański  1961,
1963; Bac-Moszaszwili et al. 1984; Szczygieł 2013; Szczygieł
et  al.  2014).  The  Giewont  Nappe  bears  crystalline  rocks  at
the core due to the crystalline basement becoming detached
while folding. The klippes of crystalline rock are located in
the  upper  parts  of  the  Czerwone  Wierchy  Massif  (Kotański
1961; Fig. 2a). The sedimentary rocks of the Giewont Nappe
dip steeply in a normal position toward the north in the west-
ern portion (Rabowski 1959; Kotański 1961). In the eastern

Fig. 2. Shaded digital elevation model (DEM) of studied karst areas (location on
Fig. 1b) including location and individual P/T axes of each fault. In the ‘beach balls’
the grey polygons and the white circle represent the position of the P- and T-axes, re-
spectively. The thicker black line on the ‘beach ball’ is a projection of the fault plane.
Numbers at the ‘beach balls’ refer to faults in Table 1. a – The Czerwone Wierchy

massif including: boundary of the main tectonic units (after Piotrowska et al. 2008); b – Central part of the Bystra Valley. Explanations:
I – Wysoka—Za Siedmiu Progami Cave, II – Mała w Mułowej Cave, III – Kozia Cave, IV – Śnieżna Studnia, V – Wielka Śnieżna
Cave, VI – Lodowa Małołącka Cave.

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outcrops Lefeld (1957) distinguishes three subunits: the main
fold of the Giewont Nappe, the Zawrat Kasprowy subunit and
the  uppermost  –  Kopa  Magury  subunit.  These  subunits  are
recumbent synclines in general (Lefeld 1957; Hercman 1989).
The Fatric Unit consists of an Lower Triassic—Lower Cretaceous
succession  (Nemčok  et  al.  1994)  and  is  overthrust  (Krížna
Nappe) onto the Tatric Unit (Plašienka 2003). The stratigraphic
range of the Hronic Units is Middle Triassic to Lower Jurassic
(Nemčok  et  al.  1994)  and  bears  the  highest  nappe  (Choč
Nappe) in the Tatra Mts nappe system (Plašienka 2003).

Cave characteristics

Tectonic settings have a direct impact on the development

of independent karst systems (Rudnicki 1967). The morphol-
ogy and passage patterns of the Tatra caves are characterized
by  cave  levels  that  are  linked  or  intersected  by  series  of
shafts and meanders. Cave levels are accumulations of sub-
horizontal  passages  which  originated  in  phreatic  or  epi-
phreatic  conditions.  Vertical  and  steep  parts  of  the  caves
including  shafts,  meanders,  cascades  etc.  developed  in  va-
dose  conditions,  mostly  as  a  result  of  the  invasion  of  water
which  either  flowed  from  a  melted  glacier  (Głazek  et  al.
1977),  or  was  just  meteoric  water  (as  in  recent  conditions).
Some very steep parts are relatively short and located within
cave  levels  amenable  to  formation  in  phreatic  conditions
(Gradziński  &  Kicińska  2002).  Cave  systems  in  the  Tatra
Mts are not just of the multilevel extended type, often caves
systems show just one of the mentioned genetic and morpho-
logical types.

Dating of speleothems permits a description of the devel-

opment of the Lodowe spring system draining the Czerwone
Wierchy Massif (Fig. 1b). The highest paleophreatic passages
are in the Czarna Cave (Fig. 1b) where the latest phreatic
stage ceased no later than 1.2 Ma (Gradziński et al. 2009).
Dating of flowstone from caves in the Bystra Valley area in-
dicates that those caves transitioned to the vadose zone dur-
ing the Eemian Interglacial (Hercman 1991).

Methods

Fieldwork has been conducted in cave passages with di-

verse morphology – vadose and paleophreatic types. For re-
search purposes only those faults which were not deformed
by  breakdowns  have  been  chosen.  Pre-faulting  morphology
also  had  to  be  clearly  visible  to  establish  sense  and  precise
measurement  slip.  Fault  planes,  slickenlines  with  kinematic
indicators,  superposition  of  striae,  dip  and  strike,  separation
were  all  measured  during  fieldwork.  The  orientation  of  the
studied faults and slope nearest to the cave were compared on
the basis of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The altitude
of faults and the nearest valley bottom were also compared.

Fault-slip data were used for reconstruction of the paleo-

stress fields. To identify the orientation of the stress axes
(principal maximum compression axis –

principal inter-

mediate compressional axis –

and principal minimum

compressional axis –

with

) two methods

were employed: right dihedra (P/T method), and inverse

methods (for details see Ramsay & Lisle 2000). These analy-
ses were carried out on TectonicsFP (Reiter & Acs 1996) and
MyFault  (Pangea  Scientific  2005)  software.  The  right  dihe-
dra  (P/T  method)  was  used  to  calculate  the  principal  stress
axes  of  the  individual  faults  and  are  represented  in  the
“beach ball” plots. The reduced stress tensors and the stress
ratio

Φ or the R [Φ=(σ

—

) / (

—

)] of the fault sets were

calculated according to inverse methods. Data sets were sepa-
rated into subsets, to obtain the homogeneous stresses for each
set. The sets were subdivided into fluctuation diagrams and
the relationship between the faults and the surface terrain.

Results

Cave morphology

Geological and geomorphological research was conducted

in 32 caves situated in the autochthonous sedimentary cover
of  the  Tatric  unit,  Czerwone  Wierchy  Nappe  and  Giewont
Nappe.  However,  only  eight caves  have  morphological fea-
tures that clearly indicate their deformation after cave devel-
opment.  A  review  of  neotectonics-affected  deformation  in
caves was given by Becker et al. (2006) who have noted that
many  processes  could  give  the  same  visual  effect  in  passage
morphology, for example, speleothems being broken by earth-
quakes  or  creeping  ice  as  mentioned  above.  Therefore,  the
faults for this study were very carefully selected. The best for
such  observations  seem  to  be  paleophreatic  passages  or  nar-
row vadose passages both with well preserved dissolution fea-
tures such as scallops, solution pockets or anastomoses.

All of the documented faults are normal and right- or left-

lateral  normal  oblique-slip  faults.  The  displacement  vectors
have a length from 3 to 27 cm. In a few cases a gap of up to
4 cm also accompanies faults. All movements slipped along
pre-existing  structures:  faults,  fractures  or  bedding  planes.
Comparison of the location and orientation of faults with lo-
cal topography showed that among the studied fault popula-
tion  two  groups  can  be  distinguished.  Fault  sets  are
described, for example, as [1,2,3,...] with the numbers in pa-
rentheses corresponding to faults in Table 1. The first group
includes faults located above the valley bottom and oriented
sub-parallel  to  the  nearest  slope  (Fig. 2,  Table 1).  The  sec-
ond group comprises faults dipping in the opposite direction
or obliquely to the nearby slopes. This group includes, inter
alia,  fault  movement  along  the  interbedded  planes  (Fig. 2,
Table 1).

Fault-slip analysis

Fault-slip data was recorded at 16 sites in eight caves. The

orientation of fault planes and their relation to topography as
well as slip direction is too diverse to assume one homoge-
neous  population.  This  is  also  indicated  on  the  fluctuation
diagram for the whole population. Therefore a reconstruction
of  the  stress  field  was  made  for  two  groups  subdivided  ac-
cording  to  topographical  relationship.  The  faults  fulfilling
the  conditions  described  for  each  of  the  two  groups  were
analysed first. The faults that do not fit perfectly but closely

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enough were also considered because it can be argued that
they were formed as a result of the same process.

The first population includes the faults numbered 10, 11,

13 and 14 (Table 1). These faults originated under an exten-
sional tectonic regime. The radial extension can be charac-
terized by W-E oriented, horizontal

(sigma 3) and vertical

(sigma 1) (Fig. 3a). Other faults from Kalacka and Gorycz-

kowa caves [12, 15 and 16] are located close enough to the
surface and to faults 10, 11, 13 and 14 to assume that they
also could have been caused by the same trigger. Examina-
tion of the fault sets [10, 11, 13 and 14] and [10—16] showed
very similar stress fields with the same trend of the principal
stress axes (Fig. 3b). It may prove this assumption.

The faults numbered 4—8 (Table 1) best meet the condi-

tions of the second group. Stress analysis showed that

gently inclined towards the SE while

plunges steeply

toward  the  west  (Fig. 3c).  This  may  indicate  a  transition
regime between the extensions and the transtension. As well
as in the first group, the rest of matching faults [1—3 and 9]
were  added  to  the  set.  Results  of  the  analysis  of  set  [4—8]
were compared with set [1—9] including all faults within the
Czerwone  Wierchy  Nappe  and  the  autochthonous  sedimen-
tary cover. Outcomes differ slightly but the general trend is
similar  (Fig. 3c,d).  This  may  suggest  that  faults  numbered
1—3  and  No. 9  were  developed  as  an  effect  of  similar  pro-
cesses as faults 4—8.

Interpretation and discussion

Most of the neotectonic movements in the Carpathians are

resolved by relaxation (e.g. Zuchiewicz 1998). However,
movements which took place a few hundred meters from the
nearest slopes or even under the bottom of the nearest valley,
could be related to the stress which influences the whole oro-
gen and not only to gravitation in an interaction of relaxation.

The maximum horizontal stress in the Central Western Car-

pathians is NE-SW oriented on the regional scale (Jarosiński
2006). However, for individual units it is more diverse, for ex-
ample,  in  the  Central  Carpathian  Paleogene  Basin  sub-units
surrounding the Tatra Mts. To the west and northwest in the
Orava  Basin  and  western  portion  of  the  Podhale  Basin  the
Quaternary  stress  field  is  characterized  by  E-W  oriented  S

(minimum horizontal compression) and N-S oriented S

(maximum horizontal compression) (Pešková et al. 2009). In
the eastern portion of Podhale and the Spišská Magura Mts the
most  recently  operating  was  ENE-SWS  oriented  tension
(Vojtko et al. 2010). In contrast, to the south of the Tatra Mts
in the Hornád Depression, the last and youngest tectonic phase
consisted  of  NNW-SSE  oriented  tension  (Sůkalová  et  al.
2011). The kinematic of the Tatric block exhumation has also
changed since the Miocene (Králiková et al. 2014). Most re-
cently  the  Tatra  Block  has  been  horst  limited  by  Prosečné,
sub-Tatra, and Ružbachy normal faults (Nemčok et al. 1994)
and is tilting northward as is also confirmed by geodetic sur-
veying  (Makowska  &  Jaroszewski  1987;  Bac-Moszaszwili
1995). On the Slovakian side of the Tatra Mts near the sub-
Tatric fault, vertical movements were observed to reach speeds
of up to  + 8.4 mm/year (Makowska & Jaroszewski 1987); in

Table 1:

Location,

geological

background

and

paleostress

tensors

from

fault

slip

data.

Explanations:

–

tectonic

unit,

–

tectonic

subunit,

–

elevation,

–

direction,

–

lithostratigraphic

formation,

–

“autochthonous”

Tatric

cover

sequence,

–

parautochthonous

Tatric

cover

sequence,

CWN

–

Czerwone

Wierchy

Nappe,

ŹU

–

Ździary

Unit,

–

Organy

Unit,

–

Giewont

Nappe,

–

normal

fault,

–

dextral

oblique-slip

fault,

–

sinistral

oblique-slip

fault,

–

vertical

displacement,

–

horizontal

displacement,

– Middle Triassic thin-bedded limestone

and dolomite, JCr – Late Jurassic

to Lower Cretaceous

(Hauterivian) thick-bedded limes

tone, Cr – Lower

Cretaceous (Barremian, Aptian) thick-

bedded

limestone,

–

azimuth

and

plunge

principal

stress

axes

estimated

right

dihedra

(P/T)

method.

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Zakopane  the  speed  was  calculated  to  + 0.3 mm/year,  and
20 km  to  the  north  in  Nowy  Targ  –  0.75 mm/year  (Perski
2008). From the foregoing, the neotectonic stage in the Tatra
Mts is determined as Late Pliocene—Quaternary (e.g. Vojtko et
al. 2010) or even Late Miocene—Quaternary (Králiková et al.
2014). So if the stress field and the rate of uplift has changed
over time, it is necessary to determine the approximate age of
the  investigated  movements.  The  maximum  or  the  minimum
age of deformation in a cave can be determined by the U-se-
ries dating of speleothems, which were destroyed or cover the
deformed  surface  (e.g.  Becker  et  al.  2006,  2012;  Plan  et  al.
2010). This study was based only on structural measurements
and  the  following  interpretation  of  the  age  is  based  on  pub-
lished data, often dealing with other aspects.

Fig. 3. Paleostress reconstruction for selected sets of faults-slip data from Tatra Mts caves. Explanation: Numbers of faults in individual
sets correspond to faults in Table 1, Stereogram (Lambert’s net, lower hemisphere) with projection of fault planes, observed slip lines and
slip senses and principal paleostress axes: circle –

(Sigma 1), square –

(Sigma 2) and triangle –

(Sigma 3), R—

Φ – stress ratio

(

—

), fluctuation histogram shows the dihedral angle between the measured lineation and the stress vector for each fault plane.

The development of the Goryczkowa and Kalacka caves

took place simultaneously (Rudnicki 1967) so the transition
to the vadose zone could be correlated. No dating of speleo-
thems from the Kalacka Cave has been carried out so far, but
the dating of flowstone from the Goryczkowa Cave indicates
an age of ca. 160 ka. This suggests that these caves were dry-
ing out during the Eemian interglacial (Hercman 1991) cor-
responding  to  the  Riss/Würm  interglacial  in  the  Alps
(Lindner et al. 2003). Cracked flowstone at fault No. 16 from
the Goryczkowa Cave indicates that this fault operated after
the  speleothems  had  grown.  There  are  no  forms  indicating
erosion  in  phreatic  conditions  on  the  fault  planes  in  the
Goryczkowa  and  Kalacka  caves.  It  can  be  assumed  that  all
examined faults in these caves developed after the change of

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conditions from phreatic to vadose, between the late Eemian
and recent.

In the Czerwone Wierchy Massif there are no speleothem

dates available from the caves where neotectonic faults have
been found. Faults occur in passages of both main types: va-
dose and paleophreatic. Dislocations among the paleophreatic
conduits are found at the high-altitude level (e.g. fault No. 4,
Table 1) as well as in the lowest cave level in this area (e.g.
fault  No. 1,  Table 1,  Fig. 4b).  Paleophreatic  passages  at  an
altitude  of  more  than  1600 m  are  probably  older  than  the
passages in the Czarna Cave (see chapter “Cave characteris-
tic”).  Furthermore,  the  lowest  cave  level  can  be  correlated
with the lowest level of the Zimna Cave (Fig. 1b), where the
transition  of  the  youngest  conduit  from  the  phreatic  to  va-
dose zone took place ca. 120 ka ago (Gradziński et al. 2009).
The  occurrence  of  faults  in  passages  of  different  ages  may
indicate  that  this  deformation  originated  after  the  develop-
ment of the cave in its current state. It means that faults from
the Czerwone Wierchy Massif as well as the faults from the
Bystra Valley were active in the Eemian Interglacial or later.
So it is too short a time span to look upon each fault group as
a separate, successive tectonic stages. However, by compar-
ing the faults and morphology of the studied area two groups
of faults were determined. Fault-slip analysis showed gener-
ally the same tectonic regime – extensional, but the orienta-
tion  of  principal  stress  axes  differs  in  detail.  The  type  of
extension was also different. In the first group it was radial
extension, in the second it was a transitional tectonic regime
between extension and transtension. It is possible to assume
that the morphological setting and asymmetry of uplift could
affect  the  presence  of  different  types  of  movements  in  the
Tatra caves.

Faults of the first group (10—16) that run sub-parallel to

the slopes are spaced from the surface to several tens of

meters. Stress analysis showed that these faults are the result
of horizontal widening, which can usually be correlated with
slope orientation. It is very important that

is vertical, so

synonymous  with  gravity.  These  factors  indicate  that  these
faults  formed  as  the  result  of  gravity  sliding.  This  process
may be related to the extension which followed the contrac-
tion,  as  in  the  Outer  Carpathians  (Zuchiewicz  1998)  or  just
relaxation after deglaciation and valley incision, so it is not
directly from tectonic activity. Gravity could also have caused
the movements if the weakest plane is not parallel to the slope.
It  is  enough  for  the  strike  direction  to  be  sub-parallel  to  the
ridge  course  (Beck  1968).  Evidence  of  this  process  can  be
seen  at  fault  No. 11  where  there  is  a  ~ 4 cm  displacement,
combined with a 2—3 cm gap (Fig. 4a). However, these move-
ments should not be equated with landslides. Although in the
upper part of the Bystra Valley landslides were documented
by Wójcik et al. (2013), the morphology of slopes near caves
has not indicated the presence of landslides. This stress anal-
ysis confirms the assumptions of Szczygieł et al. (2015).

The origin of the second faults group (1—9) by gravity slid-

ing is unlikely. The displacement also occurred  ~ 450 m be-
low  the  bottom  of  the  valley  (e.g.  No. 8).  After  that,  the
hanging  walls  moved  under  the  massif  and  not  toward  the
valley  (Fig. 2a).  The  cause  of  movements  in  this  direction
may be tilting of the Tatra block due to recent uplift.

Fault set (1—9) was developed under a transitional regime,

between the extensions of the transtension with NW—SE to
WNW—ESE oriented S

and NE—SW to NNE—SSW oriented

The computed directions are consistent with Králiková et

al. (2014) results. However, they differ from the surrounding
units, for example, they are similar to the results of Pešková
et al. (2009) but the regime is not purely extensional as in the
Orava region, especially as some dislocations have strike-
slip component. Thus a process of uplift that directly affects

Fig. 4. Chosen faults from studied caves in the Tatra Mts. a – oblique-slip faults combined with a 2—3 cm gap with strike direction parallel
to the nearest slope, fault No. 11, the Kalacka Cave, passage between Rozsunięta Chamber and sump 1; b – oblique-slip fault developed in
massive limestone under the bottom of the nearest valley, fault No. 1, Wysoka—Za Siedmiu Progami Cave, the Stary Kanion passage; up-
ward view; c – oblique-slip fault developed in thin-bedded limestone along inter-bedding plane and located under the bottom of the nearest
valley, fault No. 6, the Śnieżna Studnia Cave, Spełnionych Marzeń passage. Explanations: White thick dotted line – orientation of the
fault plane, white thin dotted line – cross section of the passage. Photos “a and b” by Jacek Szczygieł, photo “c” by Ewa Wójcik.

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the Tatra block is responsible for the youngest displacement
in the Tatra Mts.

Displacement of all the studied faults occurred along

planes of weakness, meaning pre-existing surfaces: fractures,
inter-bed  or  fault  planes.  This  might  mean  that  the  orienta-
tion  of  a  particular  fault  plane  may  depend  on  a  structural
pattern and not be formed at ideal angles relative to the prin-
cipal  compression  axes.  Assuming  that  in  the  Tatra  nappes
the  general  strike  trend  of  the  structures  is  latitudinal,  two
cases  can  be  specified  in  this  setting:  when  the  planes  of
weakness are dipping toward the S, or to the N. All the faults
of  the  second  group  match  this  pattern,  except  for  the  fault
No. 3.  In  the  caves  faults  operated  in  limestone  and  in  the
study  area  two  significant  limestone  types  could  affect  the
direction  of  the  stress  relaxation:  massive  and  thin-bedded
limestones. In massive limestone faults and fractures are the
weakest  planes.  Then  the  stress  was  relaxed  along  normal
dip-slip or oblique-slip faults depending on the orientation of
the weakest planes (e.g. faults Nos. 1, 2 and 9; Figs. 4b, 5b).
In the thin-bedded limestone stress relaxed along the pre-ex-
isting fault if it was the weakest plane (e.g. fault No. 3). The
thin-bedded  limestones  are  represented  by  Middle  Triassic
limestone and occur mostly in the upper limbs of the major
folds  of  the  Organy  and  Ździary  subunits  (Czerwone
Wierchy Nappe) which dip steeply to the south (Fig. 5). The
biggest caves in the Czerwone Wierchy massif developed in
that complex (Szczygieł 2013). The inter-bedding planes are
the  main  weakening  planes  in  this  carbonate  complex.  The
layers,  steeply  inclined  southward,  have  been  tilted  north-
ward, which resulted in the movement of the layers relative
to each other in a similar way to flexural slip (Fig. 5c). Num-
bers 4—8 are such faults (Fig. 4c).

Another important problem is whether this deformational

history is the result of one single event or a series of events,
or due to uninterrupted microtectonic movements that have
been observed in caves in other areas (Šebela et al. 2010;

Briestenský et al. 2011). No breakdowns in the nearest areas
of deformation (Fig. 4) may indicate that this could be unin-
terrupted  microtectonic  movement.  On  the  other  hand,  de-
scriptions  of  eye-witness  accounts  of  earthquakes  in  caves
reviewed by Becker et al. (2006) indicate that seismic events
did  “not  trigger  any  damage  or  rock  falls  in  the  cave,  they
(cavers) felt the ground shaking and air blowing, they heard
noises and could see fluctuations in water levels”. Addition-
ally  even  if  the  earthquake  caused  the  breakdown  faults
would  be  unrecognizable  or  there  would  not  be  a  transition
for a speleologist. Earthquake activity is possible in the stud-
ied  area;  for  example,  seismic  activity  in  the  Tatra  region
may  have  caused  the  earthquake  of  30  November  2004,
which  measured 4.7  on  the  macroseismic  scale  (Wiejacz  &
Dębski 2009). However, at present this is mere speculation.
To  resolve  this  issue,  observations  of  microtectonic  move-
ment need to be carried out as demonstrated by Šebela et al.
(2010) and Briestenský et al. (2011). In addition, the dating
of speleothems and detailed observations of the breakdowns
located in the Tatra caves would need to be completed.

Conclusions

The occurrence of faults dislocating cave passages, strongly

indicates  fault  activity  during  the  Quaternary  in  the  Tatra
Mts.  Displacement  occurs  in  the  passages  of  the  older,  as
well as the youngest levels of caves in the Tatra Mts. U-se-
ries  dating  of  speleothems  from  these  caves  done  by  other
authors (eg. Hercman 1991) indicate an Eemian or younger
age  for  this  displacement.  Stress  reconstructions  show  that
all the examined faults were operated under extensional tec-
tonic regimes. However, comparison of location and orienta-
tion of faults with local topography showed that among the
studied  fault  population  two  groups  can  be  distinguished.
(I) The faults of the first group are located above the valley

Fig. 5. Schematic presentation of development of the faults shifting cave passages. a – schematic geological cross section of the Czerwone
Wierchy massif based on Kotański (1963); results of the asymmetrical uplift in thin-bedded limestone (b) and massive limestone (c).

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bottom and at a short distance from the surface (tens of
meters), and fault planes are oriented sub-parallel to the
slopes. The radial, horizontal extension and vertical

, which

can be identified with gravity, indicate that these faults are the
result  of  gravity  sliding,  probably  caused  by  relaxation  after
deglaciation and valley incision, so it is not directly from tec-
tonic activity; (II) Faulting of the second group is a result of
active tectonics. The tilting of the Tatra Mts block led to dis-
placements  located  under  the  valley  bottom  and/or  oriented
opposite or obliquely to the slope. General WNW-ESE orient-
ed extension is quite compatible with previous research (Krá-
liková  et  al.  2014).  The  process  involved  the  pre-existing
weakest planes in the rock complex: (i) in massive limestone
mostly  faults  and  fractures,  (ii)  in  thin-bedded  limestone
where the most prone were inter-bedding planes.

To be able to precisely assess the age, the nature and rate

of such deformation in the Tatra Mts further observations of
cave morphology, measurements of microtectonic displace-
ment such as that carried out by Šebela et al. (2010) and
Briestenský et al. (2011), and the dating of speleothems such
as done by Plan et al. (2010) and Becker et al. (2012) have to
be conducted.

Acknowledgments: The author wishes to thank Prof. Antoni
Wójcik  and  Dr.  Andrzej  Tyc  for  supervising  his  research.  I
would like to thank Dr. Krzysztof Gaidzik for the discussion
of my ideas and help with software. Thanks to the colleagues
from caving clubs, for their support during cave exploration.
The referees Doc. R. Vojtko and Prof. P. Bosák are thanked
for  their  constructive  comments  which  improved  the  paper.
I also wish to thank Patricia Kearney for smoothing the En-
glish version. The research would not have been possible if
not  for  a  permit  from  the  Tatra  Mts  National  Park.  The  re-
search was funded with the “Grant for a young scientist” at
the University of Silesia.

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