The Trieste karst is a relative old karst evolving since almost 10 million years: the initial superficial morphologies (planation surface which have evolved in the shape of polje system and deep collapse dolines) are hard to distinguish. The cavities maintain rare primary morphologies filled by deposits, breakdowns and concretions, which contemporarily modify other depths due to baseline level changes and to adaptations to tectonic movements.
The comparison between the structural setting of the rocks and development directions of the caves, confirms the strict influence caused by the geological-structural features on speleogenesis: the drainage network should have been prevailingly conditioned by the highest slope of the stratification (sometimes modified by intersections following a similar direction between strata and fracture plains). As secondary influences regards the presence of “opened planes” and those related to intersection lines between opened plains due to tectonics or structural features.
