Prokopské údolí - přírodní klenot Prahy

........ Prokopské údolí Nature Reserve - Natural jewel of Prague -
The Prokop Valley is one of the most beautiful places in Prague and is a frequent destination for many visitors. The place that intersects the nature trail is one of the popular sites due to natural phenomena and attractions. In addition to lakes, quarries, and rocky outcrops, the valley provides a haven for rest and relaxation.
The valley, whose canyon reaches depths of up to 70 meters and has been the cause of erosion during the last millions of years, is an illustration of the geological evolution of the rocks from the Upper Ordovician to the Middle Devon. Steep limestone rocks, abandoned quarries and dark caves that hide the remains of prehistoric animals and humans - it's just a brief list of the attractions of this fascinating place.
This unique site is only legally protected since 1978, but the construction of roads, railways (called Prague Semering) and the opening of limestone quarries at the beginning of the 20th century did not hurt her enough to destroy its beauty and attraction. The most unpopular site of the Prokop Valley is a picturesque rock pond below the steep limestone rock, which was created by the drainage of the groundwater after rock blasting due to the mining of limestone. After its stop, the quarry was flooded with lower and rainwater. The pond has a total area of ​​25 ares, is 106 meters long, 26 meters wide and 10 meters deep. Among other things, the well-known scene from the movie Pelíšky ("the man with a leather bag") turned.
In the middle of the valley you will find abandoned quarries with layers of Devonian limestone, which are also important paleontological sites. The most famous of these are the Prokop Quarry, which was home to the original Dalejský mlýn, a later inn, which was demolished after years of decay in the 1970s. Limestone mining also disappeared in 1890, the original rarity - a 120-meter-long cave in a rock where remains of mammoth, bear, rhinoceros, dentures, reindeer, horse, lion and many smaller mammals, as well as bones of the elderly quaternary. According to the legend, St. Prokop, who, according to the legend, was fighting the devil. Above the cave was built a Baroque church in the years 1711-12, near the quarry of the former limestone and smaller gasworks.
Other well-known sites include Mušlovka - a limestone quarry that is significant from a geological point of view. Its bottom consisted of many fossils. The greatest importance for the knowledge of the geology and paleontology of the area was the lifetime work of the French engineer Joachim Barrand, who devoted himself to the research of perennial fossils in the vicinity of Prague. In his work he described over 3600 new species of extinct animals. The area between Pilsen and Prague was called geologists in his honor Barrandien, and his name is borne by the nearby Prague district of Barrandov. The rocks forming the Hemrock Rocks complex were formed at the bottom of the Palaiornian Sea thanks to the volcanic volcanos of a large undersea volcano, the length of which is estimated to be about 5.5 km, about 2 km wide and about 300 meters above sea level. Protected site is also Kovářov limit, there is a strict prohibition of breaking stone from rock walls, only the surface collection of prehistoric fossils is allowed.
The educational trail leads the Prokop valley, which introduces the history, fauna and flora of the unique geological locality on the southwest edge of Prague - the Prokopské údolí nature reserve.
The trail starts in the Prague-Butovice district, from where it climbs on the hilltop Butovice Hill overlooking the Hemrová rocks (remains of the undersea volcano), then descends to the Prokop valley where it joins the educational trail of Řeporyje - Hlubočepy ........