PHOTO INTERPRETATION OF COASTAL ZONES OF DALMATIA 



Geza Teleki 

 Virginia Geographical Institute 



Contract N7onr- 37203 

 Task NR 089-031 



Mr. Crittenden has discussed the aims, methods, and systems of our project in general. 

 Now I will try to present the application to a specific case. I have selected for this purpose the 

 coastal zones of Dalmatia, also called the Dinaric Karst. This region is an ABRUPT type, 

 MOUNTAIN sub-type coastal zone. 



About one-quarter of the Mediterranean coastal zone areas has a limestone rockbase. 

 More or less conspicuous karstland topography can be detected in about one-half of these lime- 

 stone regions. A tsrpical region with karstland topography is that of the Adriatic and Ionian - 

 Seas. This region presents different coastal zone types, for example: 



1. Low to moderately sloping coastal zones— sub-type: Low Platform which can be seen 

 on Slide No. 1* (layout page No. 131),* the heel of the Italian peninsula, the region of 

 Puglia; 



2. Abrupt coastal zones— sub-type: Mountain, to be seen on Slides Nos. 2 & 3 (layout 

 pages Nos. 296-297) and representing the SW Peloponnesos; 



3. Complex coastal zones— 



a. Sub-type: Combination low and abrupt, as shown on Slides 4 & 5 (layout pages Nos. 

 336-337), a region of Central Western Greece; 



b. Sub-type: Ria, represented by Slides 6 & 7 (layout pages Nos. 478-479) showing 

 coastal zones of Istria. 



The slides shown so far illustrate the fact that karst topography is not limited to one specific 

 coastal zone type. 



While investigating a great number of air photos of the Mediterranean, we were convinced 

 that regional treatment based on interpretation of air photographs could be used successfully by 

 the Navy. Topical treatment based on types of climate, structure, vegetation, etc. alone, al- 

 though it improves the analytical study of regions, tends to suppress somewhat the contextual 

 understanding. The interpretation of air photos involves the necessity of dealing with inter- 

 mingling factors on one or a few photos. The understanding of the intermingling of these fac- 

 tors, as seen through aerial photographs, is essential to a grasp of regions. Therefore, our 

 aim was based on an approach to comparative study of landscape elements and landscape types. 



Yet topical treatment forms a valuable aid within the frame of our work. This holds true 

 mainly for areas with unknown or generally unfamiliar features to U. S. citizens. In such cases 

 we have introduced the regional interpretation of a characteristic area by a series of photos 

 presenting the characteristic surface features. But even in such cases the topical treatment 

 is that of a single region of the Mediterranean. The treatment of the Dalmatian Karst there- 

 fore contains expressly the karst topography of Dalmatian coastal zones. 



*These slides were presented at the conference but are not reproduced here. These layout 

 page numbers refer to the pages listed in the outline presented in the preceding paper [Ed.] . 



