Heritage / Natural Heritage
Geothermal energy points
The Cerkno Region is a diverse part of the world surrounded by peaks offering luxurious views and mysteriously adorned with green valleys, vast woods and sunlit plateaus. Cerkno lies in the Pre-alpine world in the western part of Slovenia, secured with numerous dells, creaks and peaks; it borders on the Primorska Region and the Gorenjska Region, at the point where the Dinaric world transitions into the Pre-alpine world. In the past tectonic activity was very strong in these parts, this is why the Cerkno Region is one of the areas with the most diverse geological composition in Slovenia. This can be noticed simply by taking a walk along the nearby trails, high plateaus, mountains and hills in the immediate vicinity of Cerkno, Lajše, Brdce, Lamk, Medvejk … and elsewhere. On walks you stumble across different types of rock which differ in structure and colour. We can observe where and from what rocks springs come to the surface, where the slopes are sliding, how layers and cracks lay in space. Just in the immediate vicinity of Cerkno 28 different geological units can be found. Due to its diverse geological composition the area The Municipality of Cerkno has a long tradition of exploiting geothermal energy.
This is why the first geothermal educational trail in Slovenia was set here, as part of the project GRETA. Geothermal energy is the energy stored in the form of heat under the hard Earth’s surface already at a depth of 0,8 m and then deeper. The educational trail gradually leads us from the Earth’s surface deeper and deeper into the ground, showing us the characteristics of geothermal energy at depths of 20, 100 and finally 2000 m below surface. We get to know different rock types that the deepest borehole penetrated at different depths. We learn how well rocks conduct heat and how to calculate the approximate amount of available of energy, and how to harness it.
Do you want to know which rocks lay 2, 5, 10, 50, 100 or even 1000 meters below the surface? How much geothermal energy is stored in different rocks and how can we use it?
Go on a walk on the first geothermal educational trail in Slovenia.
POINTS:
- Intermittent spring of Zaganjalka near Straža
- Eco-energy park with log cabin displaying renewable energy sources at the primary school
- Geothermal borehole ce-1/94 – at “rajda”
- Borehole heat exchanger field at the multi-purpose center of Cerkno
- Deep geothermal borehole ce-2/95 at Hotel Cerkno
- Cross – section of geological strata that form the territory of the central and southern part of the Cerkno Region – the hamlet of Straža
- Cross-section of the geological strata forming the territory of thenothern part of the Cerkno Region – Črni vrh mountain
- Cross-section of geological strata at depths of 95 to 365 below Hotel Cerkno – Brdce
- Cross-section of tectonically deformed oldest rocks in the Municipality of Cerkno – Padrupa brook
- Territory with the best rock thermal conductivity in the Cerkno Region – the village of Šebrelje
Link to the brochure (.pdf datoteka).
VISIT CERKNO
