In protected mountainous areas, groundwater surveys are usually restricted to studies of their recharge by springs and streams. In the case of fissured rocks, which represent a highly heterogeneous medium, classical hydrogeological methods may be supplemented by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) techniques. The studies presented here were focused on explaining issues related to groundwater circulation and recharge in such a complex structure, based on the study of Gorczyński Ravine situated within the Pieniny Klippen Belt. The groundwater of that area is recharged by the Macelowy Stream and its spring. Electrical conductivity of water (EC) measurements have indicated the existence of a privileged groundwater recharge zone of the stream and a different groundwater recharge zone of the spring. ERT surveys were used to explain the observed EC measurements. The analysed rock massif is clearly heterogenic, as documented by the wide range of electrical resistivity values, from c. 50 Ωm to above 19 000 Ωm. Interpretation of the results was limited by the lack of documentation from wells, which would have allowed precise correlation between geoelectrical layers and geological units. Despite these restrictions, ERT surveys facilitated the explanation of the observed hydrogeological phenomena and supplied new data on the complex structure of this part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt.
The Pieniny Klippen Belt forms a narrow suture zone between the Central and Outer (Flysch) Carpathians and is composed of deposits, laid down in the Alpine Tethys. The lithostratigraphy and tectonic structure of the central part of Pieniny Klippen Belt west of the Białka River, in the area between Krempachy and Stare Bystre, were analysed. The Pieniny Klippen Belt is made up of a mixture of components of different ages and lithologies, referred to as a mélange, which was formed as a result of complex tectonic and sedimentary processes. In the lithological inventory, it contains rocks from the Jurassic up to the Miocene age, which originated in the syn-rift and synorogenic stages of Alpine Tethys evolution. Sedimentation in the Alpine Tethys took place in conditions from shallow- to deep-water, related to the development of the uplifted structure of the Czorsztyn Ridge in its central part. The carbonates and carbonate-siliceous rocks of the syn-rift stage are fragmented and occur in the form of blocks of different sizes within the flysch deposits of the synorogenic stage of development. The flysch deposits of the synorogenic stage are bounded by the results of activity of the accretionary prism, which started in the Albian in the Złatne Basin on the southern side of the ridge and successively prograded to the north. They began with marly and shale-dominated variegated facies, passing into facies with a significant proportion of sandstones. West of Białka River, the Pieniny Klippen Belt has a nappe structure. The sequence of nappes corresponds to that in the sedimentary area of the Alpine Tethys. The uppermost Złatne Nappe contains deposits that originated in the southern part of the basin, while the other nappes contain rocks, laid down in the more northern areas.
Volcanic rocks in the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) of the Western Carpathians have been the focus of geologists for over a century (e.g. Uhlig, 1890; Małkowski, 1921). Miocene volcanism is most common in the PKB. However, there are infrequent occurrences of Cretaceous volcanic rocks. Several magmatic bodies of Cretaceous age have already been described in the PKB, including basalts at Hanigovce and Biała Woda, as well as peperites at Vršatec, and Velykyi Kamenets. The magmatic body in Vršatec occurs within the Upper Cretaceous marlstones of the Lalinok Formation, the age of which was previously determined to be younger than 100 Ma (Spišiak et al., 2011). Our new U-Pb zircon dating indicates the magmatic age to be ca. 80 Ma. This new age can be used as a benchmark for the forthcoming provenance studies of the surrounding clastic rocks in the PKB and the Outer Carpathians flysch.