Historical water reservoirs – splash dams in the Low Tatras (Slovakia)
The paper analyses the development of historical water reservoirs (splash dams) in the Low Tatras region based on the interpretation of maps from the mid-19th century to the present. In the past, splash dams served as part of the system for floating timber down the Hron and Váh rivers. They represented a key hydro-technical element that significantly influenced the hydrological regime of rivers and the formation of the mountain landscape. The identification of historical splash dams was based on the analysis of maps of the 2nd Military Mapping (1836–1852), which were compared with current map data (ZBGIS, Orthophotomap of the Slovak Republic) and verified by field research.