Relief of the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, Western Carpathians

This paper relies on the literature to outline the main properties of the relief of the intramontane Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin which is dominated by three fluvioglacial fans. The focus, however, was on the genetically-varied landforms, mostly found within the limits of the fluvioglacial fans, which contribute to the diversity of the basin’s geomorphological landscape. Based on the results of geomorphological mapping of the area and the area’s digital elevation model, an explanation was provided for the distribution of particular landform types, with specification of their parameters. Building on this exercise, the three chief morphometric properties of the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, i.e. local relative height, slope, and aspect, were analysed. In the area occupied by the fluvioglacial fans, these morphometric parameters were found to display the greatest variety along the S-N and W-E axes. The results presented combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to geomorphological studies in the first such attempt regarding the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin and as such fill a significant gap in the existing geomorphological studies of the area.