Geomorphological estimates of orogenic uplift based on fluvial relief types in the Bohemian Massif

This article presents research results regarding geomorphological topics investigated by the late RNDr. Břetislav Balatka, CSc. (1931–2025) and his colleagues in recent years. It primarily focuses on the classification of fluvial relief types and their relationship to the extent and rate of tectonic uplift of morphostructural units in the Bohemian Massif, Czechia. The morphogenetic diversity of fluvial relief types of the Bohemian Massif is a consequence of the synergy between differential tectonic uplift induced by the ongoing Alpine orogeny and the variability of exogenous processes caused by pronounced climatic changes during the Cenozoic. The extent of vertical tectonic movements of morphostructural units in the Bohemian Massif, deter¬mined based on types of fluvial relief, reaches values on the order of 101–103 m over the Late Cenozoic. These represent minimum values for tectonic uplift in the Bohemian Massif. This approximate estimation is based on the substantial erosion and denudation of its landforms, including planation surfaces of various origins and age, and fluvial sediments of river terrace systems, under the influence of intensive climate-morphogenetic processes. Moreover, significant epigenetic and antecedent deepening of river valleys took place only from the late Middle Pleistocene. The fluvial sediments of river terraces I and II of the main streams were deposited during the Cromerian Complex period, while river terrace III was deposited during the Elsterian glaciation.