Michał Łyp

Abstract

Białka is a typical river that has its origins in the high mountains of the High Tatra andthe Belanske Tatra Mountains. Transport of gravel from the Tatra Mountains down to the foot ofthe mountains over a long period of time, during the Pleistocene and the post-glacial era, led tothe formation of a typical braided river channel. During the last 150 years the river channel wasgradually narrowed and deepened. This process has clearly intensified since the end of the 1960sdue to human intervention that changed the course of the river channel. Exploitation of the riverchannel by extraction of sediment also had an impact. From the geomorphological and ecologicalpoint of view, the changes occurring in the Białka River channel, which are still continuing, arenot progressing in a positive direction.

Keywords: mountain river channels, braided river, fluvial processes, the Western Carpathians

Elżbieta Gorczyca [elzbieta.gorczyca@uj.edu.pl]
Kazimierz Krzemień [kazimierz.krzemien@uj.edu.pl], Institute of Geography, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
Michał Łyp [michal.lyp@gmail.com]