DŁUŻYCA
On the southern steep slopes of Dłużyca, a hill with an elevation of 325 meters above sea level, located in the central part of the Kaczawskie Foothills, to the right of the breakthrough section of the Kaczawa Valley between Sędziszowa and Nowy Kościół, there is a stone run, quite rare in the region. These are formed by two forest-free patches of sharp-edged fragments of rhyolite – rocks of volcanic origin, formed during violent eruptions in the Permian period.
The rocky scree formations took shape primarily during the cold Pleistocene climate when the outcrops of fractured rhyolites underwent intense mechanical weathering, mainly frost weathering, causing the fragmented rock material to slide and slump down the slope. From the stone run area, there is a limited view of the breakthrough valley of the Kaczawa, with steep slopes and a flat alluvial bottom. The Kaczawa Gorge probably formed during the retreat of the last ice sheet in this area, around 450,000 years ago.
As a result of the ice masses lingering in the old pre-Kaczawa valley, running from Sędziszowa northwest towards the present Skora Valley, the river carved a new section cutting through the plateau made of hard rhyolites. The stone runs of Dłużyca are located outside the network of marked hiking trails, and the way leading to them is unmarked. The nearest path is about 0.5 km away, where the blue hiking trail from Nowy Kościół to Zawodna runs. The boulder-covered slopes are unstable, and moving around them requires special caution.
Description: Piotr Migoń
