Geomechanical and hydrogeological characteristics of Quaternary in karst
Karst is a terrain with special hydrogeology and relief forms, and it develops in rocks that are relatively soluble in water. Quaternary deposits in karst areas of the Dinarides occupy relatively smaller areas, in poljes and beds of a small number of karst rivers. The subject of the study is the Quaternary formations in the Trebižat riverbed. Although the river has carved its bed through Quaternary limestones, occurrences of major water losses or sinking are not registered due to relatively thick, fine‐grained and clayey alluvium that has been deposited in the canyon. Their depth is relatively large and in places it is over 20 m. Tufa in the form fragments of different sizes is very often present. It has a high holey porosity that is partly due to the decomposition of water plant tissues, and partly due to the dissolution or releasing of organic tissue. Despite the high porosity, tufa does not have a high permeability because the pores are not well interconnected and are often filled with fine‐grained particles. The subject of the paper is geomechanical and hydrogeological properties of these sediments.