The Drava is the largest and most important river of Carinthia (Austria), as it is used for economical as well as for recreation purposes. Hydrogeologically it is the main drainage system. As the information on the geology of the riverbed and its development are distributed in numerous publications and partly even hidden in unpublished geological reports the aim of the project is to summarize and replenish these data.
At present the Drava passes different petrographic areas following paths pre-sketched by older geological faults such as the Periadriatic Lineament. The geological history of a pre-existing Drava in the sense of the main drainage system from the High Tauern to the East begins roundabout 12 Mya ago when Carinthia gets continental. The general direction of the water runoff from the Northwest to the South and East is similar to the present as due to the rising of the Central Alps in Carinthia intramontane basin at lower levels has been established at that time. In the Pannonian or even already in the Sarmatian the river course in lower Carinthia is assumed north of its present riverbed, running through the Klagenfurt basin, which has been filled up by tertiary sediments. During the Pleistocene Carinthia has been covered almost completely with ice and the valley and the river bed has been overprinted by the great Drava glacier. With the melting of the glaciers the valleys have been filled up with hundreds of meters of sediments. Nowadays the Drava is influenced by anthropogenic activities such as regulations.Drava je najveća i najvažnija rijeka u Koruškoj (Austrija), te se koristi u gospodarske svrhe i za rekreaciju. S hidrogeološkog aspekta rijeka Drava je glavni vodotok. Obzirom na činjenicu da su informacije o geologiji korita i njegovog razvoja prisutni u brojnim publikacijama, a neki su djelomično skriveni u neobjavljenim geološkim izvješćima, cilj ovog projekta je sažeti i nadopuniti te podatke. Drava trenutno prolazi kroz različita petrografska područja kroz tokove koji su rezultat starijih geoloških nedostataka poput perijadranskog rasjeda. Geološka povijest prapovijesne Drave kao glavnog vodotoka s Visokih Tura prema istoku počinje prije 12 milijuna godina kada Koruška postaje kontinentalno područje. Glavni smjer otjecanja vode sa sjeverozapada prema jugu i istoku je sličan sadašnjem zbog tadašnjeg izdizanja Središnjih alpi u međuplanonskom bazenu Koruške. U panonskom i sarmacijskom periodu tok rijeke u Koruškoj bio je sjevernije od sadašnjeg korita i prolazio je kroz bazen u području Klagenfurta koji je bio ispunjen tercijarnim sedimentima. Za vrijeme pleistocena Koruška je bila gotovo u potpunosti prekrivena ledom, a nizina i rijeka su bili prekriveni velikim Dravskim glečerom. Otapanjem glečera doline su bile zapunjene stotinama metara sedimenta. U današnje vrijeme na Dravu utječu antropogene aktivnosti poput zakonskih odredbi
