Latvia's Geosites of 2022

This year, the Geosite of the Year was the Krustalīča and Kraukļa cliffs by the Daugava River.

The cliffs stretch for more than a kilometre on both sides of the river - in Vidzeme and Selija. The Daugava in this stretch is impounded by the Plavinas HPP reservoir and the cliffs of the former canyon, up to 40 m deep, now enclose the river as inaccessible walls 2-4 m high. The vertical cliffs are unusual and exceptionally scenic for today's Latvian landscape. However, they can almost only be seen from the river, either by boat or in winter from the ice of the reservoir. On the Vidzeme side, the dolomite cliffs can also be seen in the Klintaine flooded quarries.

The cliffs are made up of rocks formed from ancient Devonian marine sediments - both platy and cavernous dolomites, containing fossil remains and interesting mineral formations.

Photo:
Lost Latvia, Inese Zvaigzne
Juris Smaļinskis
Dainis Ozols