Glaciokarst landscapes form through interactions between ice and certain types of rock, like limestone, gypsum, or dolomite, that are able to dissolve in water.[5] When glaciers move over the land, they shape it by carving valleys and other glacial features. As it acquires carbon dioxide, meltwater from these glaciers forms a weak acid that can dissolve these specific rocks, eventually leading to cave formation.[5] Over time, the combination of glacial sculpting and rock dissolution produces distinct landforms such as sinkholes and caves within the regions affected by glaciers.[5]
Velež Mountain provides an example of glaciokarst where karstic terrain has been significantly affected by glacial processes during the Pleistocene epoch.[3] This landscape includes valley glaciers and a plateau glacier, primarily located on the northern slopes. The northern slopes exhibit features shaped by glacial erosion, presenting cirques, pavements, and roche moutonnées covered with small-scale karst features[3] while in the lower regions of the Velež Mountain, significant moraine ridges, lateral moraines, breach-lobe moraines, and smaller recessional moraines formed, varying in their composition and height.[3] The absence of valley discharge and the presence of indicators of glacial erosion hint at a pattern of vertical drainage of sub-glacial waters into the karst landscape.[3] The outwash fans that filled some hollow areas displayed a change in the kind of sediment they contained, from rough near the ice margin to finer material further away.[3]
