Introduction:

Papuk Geopark is situated in eastern part of Croatia, in Slavonia region. Lowland area of Slavonia is mostly flat agriculture landscape and Papuk as a part of Slavonian Mountains is fairly distinctive feature in such landscape. Papuk Geopark covers area with altitudes ranging from 200 to 953 meters and comprises area of whole Papuk Nature Park (336 km²) that was protected by Croatian Government in 1999.

Papuk was proclaimed protected area due to its exceptional geological, landscape, biological and cultural diversity, rarely seen in Croatia. Papuk is made of rocks whose ages presumably vary about 400 millions years, from Paleozoic, through the Cenozoic sediments reaching the youngest geological features as tufa barriers on Papuk waterfalls, whose creation process is present even today. Besides the geochronological diversity, there is also extraordinary lithological diversity, represented by variety of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. The core of Papuk and the biggest part of the mountain is made of the oldest Paleozoic rocks: different kind of metamorphic rocks (phyllites, chlorite schists, gneisses, migmatites and amphibolites), granites and other kinds of rocks. Somewhat younger Mesozoic formations are represented through carbonate rocks with typical karst features as abysses, sinkholes and caves that can be found in the very crest of Papuk. The Cenozoic geological period is represented by sediments often containing fossils, which is particularly apparent for 16 million years old rocks when Papuk was island in the "Pannonian see". Final tectonic elevations and continuous erosion of the rocks in Slavonian Mountains created necessary material for sedimentation of more than one-kilometer thick deposits in Sava and Drava river valleys.