Abstract
We provide the most comprehensive detailed rock glacier inventory for the Western and the High Tatra Mts. and we analyze their distribution and morphology. Rock glaciers were manually mapped and digitized based on aerial photographs with 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 m resolution, supported by field validation.
Rock glaciers were classified according to their plan shape as lobate-, transient and tongue-shaped. The morphometric characteristics were derived from digital elevation model with 10 m resolution.
We delineated a total of 379 rock glaciers, which are almost evenly distributed between the Western ( 48 %) and the High ( 52 %) Tatra Mts. Most rock glacier termini are located within an altitudinal range of 1400-2200 m asl with an average altitude of 1731 m asl, however the altitude varies with aspect.
Northern aspects dominate the rock glacier occurrence over the other sectors. Rock glaciers with northern aspects (NW, N, NE) are located at about 150 m lower mean elevations than rock glaciers on southern slopes (SE, S, SW).
Rock glaciers in the High Tatra Mts. are located at significantly higher elevations compared to rock glaciers in the Western Tatra Mts. Average length of rock glaciers in both mountain ranges is 221 m, but it can reach up to 1550 m for the longest features.
More numerous tongue-shaped rock glaciers in the Western Tatra Mts. are larger in area and longer (but not significantly) than predominantly lobate-shaped rock glaciers in the High Tatra Mts.