Abstract
The karst landscapes of Portugal are confined to the sedimentary basins where there are uplifted limestone rocks. The most important limestone massif is the Limestone Massif of Estremadura (LME) located in the Western Sedimentary Basin that contact by an overthrust fault with the active Tagus River sedimentary basin. Although there are other limestone massifs in Portugal, they are smaller and have less developed karst landforms. What makes the LME special is the thickness of the limestone, its high content of calcium carbonate and tectonic uplift of the entire massif in relation to the surrounding areas. No permanent river cuts across the limestone mass, and the water circulation is subterranean. For this reason, most of great karst springs are located along the LME borders, principally in the eastern side, near the tectonic contact with the impermeable sediments of the Tagus Basin. In this chapter, the main geomorphological units within the LME are characterized: three anticline mountains, two plateaus and three tectonic depressions in graben structures. Examples of the main types of karst landforms according to dimension are presented, namely: large karst landforms (poljes, big uvalas, karst canyons or amphitheatre head valleys), medium karst landforms (dolines, dry valleys, karst springs or waterfalls) and small karst landforms (karren features or swallow holes). Among this set of karst landforms, some show a particular value and should be preserved as geoheritage and geomorphosites. Two cases are the polje of Minde and the Fórnia amphitheatre head valley that contains valuable remnants of relict slope deposits from Quaternary cold periods.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Cunha L (1996) Les karsts portugais, problèmes et perspectives. Karstologia 28(2):41–48
Leal C, Cunha L (2014) Proposta de classificação da escarpa dos Arrifes do Maciço Calcário Estremenho (Portugal central) como património geomorfológico. Inventariação e caracterização dos valores patrimoniais. Proceedings I Encontro Luso-Brasileiro de Património Geomorfológico e Geoconservação, APGeom, pp 55–61
Martins AF (1949) Maciço Calcário Estremenho. Contribuição para um estudo de Geografia Física, Coimbra
Martins AF (1950) Aspectos do relevo calcário em Portugal: os poljes de Minde e de Alvados. Cadernos de Geografia 1:25–33
Nicod J (1995) Découverte des karsts du Portugal Central. Karstologia 26:59–60
Rodrigues ML (1988) As depressões de Minde e de Alvados. Depósitos e evolução quaternária das vertentes. MS Diss. in Physical and Regional Geography, Specialization in Geomorphology, FLUL, Univ. de Lisboa
Rodrigues ML (1991) Depósitos e evolução quaternária das vertentes nas depressões de Minde e de Alvados (Maciço Calcário Estremenho, Portugal). Finisterra XXVI(51):5–26
Rodrigues ML (1995) Évolution quaternaire des versants, dissolution et karsification dans le Massif Calcaire de l’Estremadura. Livret-Guide de l’Excursion - Massif de Sicó, Massif Calcaire de l’Estremadura, Table Ronde Franco-Portugaise “Le Karst au Portugal (Géomorphologie, Spéléologie, Etudes Environnementales)”, pp 35–54
Rodrigues ML (1998) Evolução geomorfológica quaternária e dinâmica actual. Aplicações ao ordenamento do território. Exemplos no Maciço Calcário Estremenho. PhD Diss. in Physical Geography, Univ. de Lisboa, Lisboa
Rodrigues ML, Fonseca A (2007) A valorização do geopatrimónio no desenvolvimento sustentável de áreas rurais. VII Colóquio Ibérico de Estudos Rurais – Cultura, Inovação e Território, Coimbra
Rodrigues ML, Fonseca A (2008) Geopatrimónio e Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Estratégias de Valorização de Áreas Rurais. Cultura, Inovação e Território: o Agroalimentar e o Rural (Coord. L Moreno, M Sánchez, O Simões), pp 143–152, SPER - Sociedade Portuguesa de Estudos Rurais, Lisboa
Rodrigues ML, Fonseca A (2010) Geoheritage assessment based on large-scale geomorphological mapping. Géomorphologie: Relief, Processus, Environ (2), 189–198
Ruget-Perrot C (1961) Études stratigraphiques sur le Dogger et le Malm inférieur du Portugal au Nord du Tage. Bajocien, Bathonien, Callovien, Lusitanien. Mem. nº 7, Serv. Geol. Portugal, Lisboa
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to my colleagues Gonçalo Vieira and Piotr Migón, because their text revision was precious and provided clarity to the content and form of my contribution to this book.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rodrigues, M.L. (2020). The Limestone Massif of Estremadura. In: Vieira, G., Zêzere, J., Mora, C. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Portugal. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03641-0_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03641-0_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-03640-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-03641-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)