Uvala
Also called: Valley sink · Topic: Landforms and their Evolution: Rivers, Groundwater, Glaciers, Waves and Wind · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Landforms and their Evolution"
Meaning
An uvala, also called a valley sink, is a long trench in a karst area (a limestone landscape shaped by dissolving rock). It forms when several sinkholes and dolines (hollows made by a collapsed cave roof) grow and join together. They join in two ways: their edges slump and slide in, or the roofs of caves between them collapse. The result can be narrow or wide, but it is always long. An uvala shows a later stage of karst development, when separate hollows merge into a larger landform.
Example
The limestone Karst region of the Balkans, beside the Adriatic Sea, has many uvalas. "Uvala" is a word from the languages of this region.
Don't confuse with
- Sinkhole / doline: a single round or funnel-shaped hollow. An uvala is a long trench made from many of them joined together.