VIEW OF ŁOSOSINA VALLEY
Stops 9 and 12 are scenic spots, but nearby trees make it difficult to observe the panorama. Aerial photographs of the Łososina valley will allow us to get to know its character. Looking north-west, a view of a fragment of the Łososina valley opens. At stop 12, you can see the next part of the valley towards the north-east. Therefore, everything that is related to the landscape of this part of the Beskid Wyspowy is described jointly at both stops (9 and 12).
A characteristic feature of the relief of the western part of the Beskid Wyspowy is the presence of single hills (islands), e.g. Śnieżnica, Ćwilin, Mogielica. However, where we are now, i.e. in the north-eastern part of the Beskid Wyspowy, the geomorphology is range-like. This is due to the geological structure and the varying resistance of the rocks in this part of the Beskid Wyspowy. The described fragment of the Łososina valley lies within the outer flysch Carpathians, in the Beskid Wyspowy, composed of the highest tectonic unit of the flysch Carpathians, the Magura Nappe. The main feature of the Carpathian flysch is the alternation of sandstones and shales belonging to the Cretaceous and Paleogene. In this area, the sandstone and shale beds of various thicknesses generally run towards the W-E and have an average slope of 30°, mostly towards the N-S, which is consistent with the general line of the Carpathian thrusts. Therefore, it is a fragment of the anticline, cut here by the Łososina valley.
The higher, more resistant to weathering, layers of rocks (roof), which build the tops of the Beskid Wyspowy hills, are several hundred meters thick and form a very sandstone complex, which means that they are less folded. The underlying (bottom) layers are heavily cracked and often refolded and squeezed, and in result often disappearing. This was favored by the shale-like and more plastic nature of the rocks, which is why the lower part of the mountain slopes is more morphologically developed. All ridges are rounded, often with flattening of the top, so they are characteristic forms of the mature stage in the geomorphological cycle.
The main morphological factor on the slopes was (and still is) the relief-forming activity of water flowing in streams with quite large gradients, as well as denudation processes: falling off, landfalls, sliding, flowing, flushing, and subsidence. One of the contemporary morphological processes are landslides, which occur mainly on the northern slopes of the Łososina valley (for example, in the neighboring Kamionka Mała), where the angle of the slope is consistent with the fall of the rock layers. On the basis of their relation to the geological structure, most of them can be classified as sliding.
The sliding surface is usually made up of shale beds. Under normal conditions, the cohesive soils that build the slopes, i.e. the clayey waste, are in a plastic state. The increase in soil moisture after violent downpours, preceded by long-term rainfall, causes its liquefaction and movement along the slope. In recent years, this phenomenon has become much more active (as in the entire Beskidy Mountains), often causing great material damage.
The subsequent Łososina valley, which generally runs toward the W- E, is bounded by two ridges: from the south by the ridges of Jaworz (918 m above sea level) and Sałasz (909 m above sea level), and from the north by the ridges of Kamionna (802 m above sea level) and Kobyła (605 m above sea level) with the Widoma pass (Rozdziele). The ridge of Jaworz and Sałasz is often called the Łososińskie Range. These two main ridges are dissected by side valleys. These are narrow, V-shaped, constantly drained valleys that direct the water to the Łososina River. The photograph at stop 12 shows the Jabłoniecki Potok valley and the Kamionka stream valley. Therefore, the main ridges were divided into smaller ones.
And exactly what we see in the north-western direction is the Jabłoniec ridge towering over Laskowa from the north (culmination - 510 m above sea level), which is part of the Kamionna and Kobyła Range, and where we are currently standing (educational trail) is the northern slope of the Rozpite ridge (culmination - 480.8 m above sea level), which is part of the Łososińskie Range. The fragment of the valley bottom visible in this area has a slight slope (about 0.6o), that is, it is almost flat (peneplain). There is also a clear separation between the slopes and the bottom. Therefore, it is a typical accumulation valley. The original valley, with a V-shaped cross section, was covered with material carried by the flowing river. In the center of the valley, the thickness of the accumulative sediments reaches approximately 20 m. The average width of the valley floor in this area is 400–500 m. However, moving up the valley, in its gorge section, on the border of Laskowa and Młynne (Załpa), the width of the bottom is about 50 m, and in the opposite direction, i.e. down the valley, near Ujanowice, the bottom widens to about 800 m. The Łososina River channel is cut off at the bottom, with an average depth of 1.5 m and a width of 15–20 m. At normal water levels, the river flows in a channel up to 10 m wide. The remaining part of the channel is lined with gravels and here and there steps of flysch rocks, which are flooded only during flood periods. Accumulation terraces are visible at the bottom of the valley: lower floodplain, an average of 2 m above the channel level, and higher floodplain, an average of 5 m above the channel level. On such a floodplain terrace is located the Jędrzejkówka Open-air Museum. Due to the large width and depth of the channel, even during flood periods the river very rarely floods the floodplain. That is why this terrace is used for agriculture and is often even built over.


A fragment of the Łososina valley in the north-western direction.

Jabłoniec ridge 510 m above sea level