Geography Entry on Trieste: The Foibe Landforms and the Doline

The Foibe are a Carsic landform formed when some land composed of calcium carbonate is eroded while the rock around it remains intact, creating a sinkhole. The erosion is mostly caused by acid rain precipitations and other kinds of water-caused weathering. These depressions are found all over the Carsic plateau that is divided between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. These crevices come in all sizes but usually they are narrow at the top and gradually expand. Doline is the Slovenian name for valley and is used to describe depressions in the ground. These landforms are found in several parts of the world, including the Carsic plateau, near Trieste. There are several different types of Doline of which some examples are the Funnel Dolina, the Composed Dolina and the covered Dolina. The Funnel Dolina is a sinkhole that has a greater width than depth by definition but can be bowl shaped rather than funnel shaped. A composed Dolina is when two or more funnel Doline become a larger Dolina. Covered Doline are a simple Dolina covered with trees. These Covered Doline are interesting because there is a huge thermal inversion in them and they often contain ice even in the most torrid summers.

Further information on the Foibe
Further information on the Doline