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6. Branické Skály (Braník Rocks) Natural Monument (PP) |
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Significant rock formation on the right-hand bank of the Vltava - the
Braník Rock and the Školní Vrch in its close proximity - between Branick
Street and U Pražských Lomů street. Cadastre: Braník- Prague 4. Area: 9.1
ha. Elevation: 215 - 273 m above sea level. Established by the Ordinance
of Prague Municipality No. 5/1968 of April 29, 1968.
Significant geomorphological element, part of the characteristic picture
of Prague nature, cutting through Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian. Palaeontological
site. Thermophilous plant and animal communities.
The big shelf quarry exposed a profile of Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian
rocks. There are several minor quarries in the area. The outcrop of Školní
Vrch was defined as an international stratotype of the Ludlow-Přídol (Silurian)
boundary approved by the International Geological Congress in Moscow in
1984. The cephalopodic limestones of the Kopaniny formation join the shales
of the Přídol formation containing e.g. the stems of the crinoids of the
Scyphocrinites elegans family. The vast quarry wall reveals the grey nodular
Braníklimestones of the Dvorce-Prokop strata of the Prag (Devonian) containing
i.a. the fossils of trilobites of the Odontochile and Reedops families.
Until 1928 the quarries yielded the so-called Braníklimestones for the
firing of Prague hydraulic lime, used primarily in hydraulic structures.
Fast succession of blue mountain gras (Sesleria calcarea) can be observed
on the small shelves of the quarrywall. The cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)
grows on its upper edge. The Školní Vrch represents a limestone outcrop
with the occurrence of outstanding thermophilous species, such as the feathergrass
species Stipa Joanni and Stipa pulcherrima, the hedge lily (Anthericum
liliago) and the hairy milk vetch (Osytropis pilosa).
The number of invertebrates preserved here includes also some steppe species,
those of phytophagous leaf-beetles (Chrysomelidae), such as Cryptocephalus
fulvus, Longitarsus celticus, Dubolia cynoglossi, and Otiorhynchus rugosostriatus
from the number of snout beetles (Curculionidae). The gastropods are represented
by the Granaria frumentum and Pupilla sterri species. Sand lizard can be
observed on sunny spots, although not very often. The area is used as a
regular nesting site by the kestrel, while the wheateater, very frequent
in the past, has disappeared. The Školní Vrch is a current site of such
ordinary bird species, as the brambling.
It is necessary to keep the geological profiles accessible, i.e. to eliminate
the wind-swept vegetation. The non-indigenous wood on the BraníkRock will
be converted successively into a hairy oak wood. The Školní Vrch will bekept
woodfree.
Kříž (1985), Kubíková (1987).
The Branické Skály natural monument ranks among the most characteristic
and best known rock formations in Prague.
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