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The rafting through the Dunajec River Gorge belongs to the major geotouristic attractions of Poland. It offers magnificent view of the cliffs sculptured in the Pieniny Mountains by the tectonic activity and river's erosion. It offers also the close view of the outcrops of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks and complex tectonics of the Pieniny Mountains (Pieniny Klippen Belt in geological sense), for tourists who are interested in geological history of this mountains and their geomorphological features. It is also most important geotouristic object of the future trans-bordering PIENINY Geopark. The proposed geopark fulfills its roles in nature conservation, scientific research, and in promoting educational and tourist activities, serving the local communities. The trips on the Dunajec River were established in XIX century and are very popular nowadays. The boats are run by licensed pilots living in the Pieniny Mountains villages and towns . Originally the boat starting point was in Czorsztyn, below the castle hill. After the Dunajec River dams at Czorsztyn and Niedzica were constructed, new harbor was established at Sromowce Kąty. Each Dunajec River boat carries 10 tourists and highlander pilot-guide. They have special design allowing easy maneuvering on the treacherous white waters of Dunajec. The route is partially going along the border of Poland and Slovakia. Slovaks also offer their own rafting trip along the somewhat shorter route. The origin of the Gorge is related to the neotectonic movements during the Neogene time. Following the Serravalian formation of the Outer Carpathian fold-and-thrust belt the area at the plate boundary were covered during the Neogene by at least 600?900 m of sand, silt and clay, which were deposited in the Orava?Nowy Targ Depression east of the Gorge. The Dunajec River valley reached the mature stage during the latest Miocene?Pliocene time. This stage is indicated by the numerous meandering bends of the river. The vertical uplift of the Pieniny Mountains followed the meandering stage of Dunajec. Faulting and uplifting played a tremendous role during the Neogene tectonic evolution. Dense and regular fault net is one of the characteristic features of the Carpathians. Brittle faults, mainly strike-slips in combination with other dynamical tectonic boundaries allowed propagation of individual detached blocks to the realm of the future Carpathian region. At least some of the faults were still active during Quaternary time. The studies of the 1995 earthquake show the good agreement of focal model with the tendencies of vertical crustal movements. The recent vertical movement in the area are up to + 0,5 mm per year. During the fault-related uplift Dunajec River was cutting through the competent Jurassic?Early Cretaceous cherty limestones forming the magnificent cliffs of the Gorge.
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