Croatia (Hrvatska), called the pearl of the Adriatic, has eight national parks: four in mountain areas (Risnjak, Paklenica, North Velebit and Plitvice lakes) and four in the coastal area (Kornati, Mljet, Brijuni and Krka). Most prominent and visited among these eight national parks is Plitvice lakes, the only Croatian natural wonder included in World heritage list (UNESCO) in 1979.
The waters flowing over the limestone and chalk have, over thousands of years, deposited travertine barriers, creating natural dams which in turn have created a series of beautiful lakes, caves and waterfalls. These geological processes continue today, for Plitvice lakes. The lakes are situated on the eponymous Plitvice plateau, between the mountains of Licka Plješevica, Mala Kapela and Medvedak.
The lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, and cover an area of about two square kilometers, with the water exiting from the lowest lake to form the Korana River. The area is heavily forested, mainly with spruce, beech and fir trees, making a mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean vegetation.
It has a wide variety of plant communities, differing soils and varying levels of altitude. The area is also home to an extremely wide variety of animal and bird species. Rare fauna such as the brown bear, wolf, eagle, wild cat and capercaillie can be found there. Nearly 130 species of birds have been recorded there, and more than half of them have been recorded as breeding there. One ticket for an adult is about 7 euro in winter and 14 euro between July –August.
Photo source: Wikipedia
May 10, 2013
A.I.
