Đavolja Varoš

Đavolja varoš (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђавоља варош, meaning "Devil's Town") is a peculiar rock formation, located in south Serbia on the Radan Mountain on the territory of the village of Đake[1] in the municipality Kuršumlija.

Đavolja varoš
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
Đavolja Varoš
LocationToplica, Serbia
Coordinates42°59′33″N 21°24′26″E
Area0.67 km2 (0.26 sq mi)
Elevation700 m (2,300 ft)
Websitewww.djavoljavaros.com

Geology

Đavolja Varoš features 202 exotic formations described as earth pyramids or "towers", as the locals refer to them. They are 2 to 15 m (6 ft 7 in to 49 ft 3 in) tall and 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) wide at the base. These formations were created by strong erosion of the soil that was scene of intense volcanic activity millions of years ago.[2] Most of the towers have "caps" or "heads" of andesite, which protect them from further erosion.[3] Volatile volcanic history left marks in the multicolored rocks in the towers hinterlands. However, Đavolja Varoš in its modern form is a relatively new feature. As the inhabitants of the surrounding region were cutting down the forests, they enabled for the precipitation to erode the rocks.[4] The area beneath the towers is called The Hell gully (Paklena jaruga) and the surrounding terrain is a location of the mine shafts from the medieval Nemanjić Serbia.[1]

A natural spring is located beneath the formations and has a high mineral concentration. There are two springs: Đavolja voda (Devil's Water), with extremely acidic water (pH 1.5) and high mineral concentration (15 g/l of water), and Crveno vrelo (Red Well).[5] The unusually pungent spring waters were examined for the first time in 1905 by Aleksandar Zega, founder of the Serbian Chemical Society.[1]

Protection

The formations were scientifically examined and described in 1955 by Tomislav Rakićević.[1] Since 1959, Đavolja Varoš has been protected by the state and a 1995 decision of the Serbian Government declared it a major natural monument subject to category one protection.[5] It is visited by 50,000 tourists yearly.[1]

Đavolja Varoš was a nominee in the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign.[6]

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See also

References
  1. Dragan Borisavljević (8 July 2009), "Đavolja varoš na putu za svetsko čudo", Politika (in Serbian)
  2. Đavolja varoš Archived 2013-05-08 at the Wayback Machine, National Tourist Organization of Serbia (English)
  3. The Djavolja Varos (Devil's Town) Natural Landmark, UNESCO World Heritage
  4. "Da li znate? - Koliko ima kamenih stubova u Đavoljoj varoši?", Politika (in Serbian), 14 November 2016
  5. About Devil's Town, Official website
  6. New7Wonders: Đavolja Varoš, Rock Formation Archived 2009-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
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