Everything about Plitvice Lakes National Park totally explained
The
Plitvice Lakes ([pli'tviʦɛ̝],
Croatian:
Plitvička jezera) are a
national park in
Croatia, situated at, in the
Plitvice Lakes municipality, near the border with
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Geography and geology
The lakes are situated on the eponymous Plitvice plateau, between the mountains of Lička
Plješevica (Gornja Plješevica peak 1,640 m),
Mala Kapela (Seliški Vrh peak at 1,280 m) and Medveđak (884 m). The sixteen lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 m to 503 m over a distance of some 8 km, aligned in a south-north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about 2 km², with the water exiting from the lowest lake to form the
Korana river.
The Plitvice Lakes lie in a basin of
karstic rock, mainly
dolomite and
limestone, which has given rise to their most distinctive feature. The lakes are separated by natural dams of
travertine, which is deposited by the action of
moss,
algae and
bacteria. The encrusted plants and bacteria accumulate on top of each other, forming travertine barriers which grow at the rate of about 1 cm per year.
The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colours, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colours change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight.
The lakes are divided into the 12 Upper Lakes (
Gornja jezera) and the four Lower Lakes (
Dolnja jezera):
| Lake |
altitude (m) |
area (ha) |
depth (m) |
Group |
| Prošćansko jezero |
636 |
68,0 |
37 |
Gornja jezera |
| Ciginovac |
625 |
7,5 |
11 |
Gornja jezera |
| Okrugljak |
613 |
4,1 |
15 |
Gornja jezera |
| Batinovac |
610 |
1,5 |
6 |
Gornja jezera |
| Veliko jezero |
607 |
1,5 |
8 |
Gornja jezera |
| Malo jezero |
605 |
2,0 |
10 |
Gornja jezera |
| Vir |
599 |
0,6 |
5 |
Gornja jezera |
| Galovac |
585 |
12,5 |
25 |
Gornja jezera |
| Milinovo jezero |
576 |
1,0 |
1 |
Gornja jezera |
| Gradinsko jezero |
553 |
8,1 |
10 |
Gornja jezera |
| Buk |
545 |
0,1 |
2 |
Gornja jezera |
| Kozjak |
535 |
81,5 |
47 |
Gornja jezera |
| Milanovac |
523 |
3,2 |
19 |
Dolnja jezera |
| Gavanovac |
519 |
1,0 |
10 |
Dolnja jezera |
| Kaluđerovac |
505 |
2,1 |
13 |
Dolnja jezera |
| Novakovića brod |
503 |
0,4 |
5 |
Dolnja jezera |
| Plitvice Lakes |
|
217,0 |
|
|
Flora and fauna
The Plitvice Lakes national park is heavily forested, mainly with
beech,
spruce, and
fir trees, and features a mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean vegetation. It has a notably wide variety of plant communities, due to its range of microclimates, 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 European
brown bear,
wolf,
eagle,
owl,
lynx,
wild cat and
capercaillie can be found there, along with many more common species. At least 126 species of birds have been recorded there, of which 70 have been recorded as breeding there.
History
Humans have inhabited the Plitvice Lakes area for thousands of years. It has been settled in turn by
Illyrians,
Thracians,
Celts,
Japods,
Romans,
Avars,
Slavs and
Turks. In
1528 the area fell to the
Ottomans before being retaken by the
Austrian Empire 150 years later. The Austrians subsequently incorporated it into their
Military Frontier and, in addition to the native
Croats who already inhabited the region,
Serbs who had fled Ottoman repression settled there.
The Plitvice Lakes had became a major tourist attraction in the late
19th century. The first hotel was built there in
1896, and as early as
1893 it already had a conservation committee - the predecessor of today's national park authority. In
1949 the
communist government of
Yugoslavia nationalized the lakes and made them a national park. The park was inscribed on the
UNESCO World Heritage List in
1979 in recognition of its "outstanding natural beauty, and the undisturbed production of travertine (tuff) through chemical and biological action".
The park soon became one of Yugoslavia's most popular tourist attractions. However, in March
1991 it became the scene of the
Plitvice Lakes incident - the first armed confrontation of the
Croatian War of Independence that resulted in fatalities. The park was held by forces of the
Republic of Serbian Krajina during the conflict and suffered some damage in the process, with hotels and other facilities being used as barracks. At auto-camp Grabovac there was massacre of civilians (three children) by the
Yugoslav Army in September of 1991. It was retaken by the
Croatian Army in August
1995 during
Operation Storm, which ended the Croatian war.
The war led UNESCO to add the park to its List of World Heritage in Danger. Due to the economic importance of the park, the Croatian government made it a priority for its
de-mining efforts, and in December 1998 UNESCO recognised the park's newly mine-free status by removing it from the list of endangered sites. However, the surrounding Plitvice municipality outside the park boundary still has some problems with mine contamination.
The Plitvice Lakes are today one of Croatia's biggest tourist attractions. In
2000, the national park was expanded by a further 102 km².
Gallery
Image:Plitvice-2003.JPG|Turquoise-colored lakes
Image:Plitvicer_Seen_2.jpg|Waterfall at the upper lakes
Image:Plitvicer_Seen_1.jpg|Lower Plitvice Lakes
Image:Wasserfall Plitvicer Seen.jpg|Waterfalls during summer
Image:Plitvice Lakes 1.jpg|Walking on wooden footbridges
Image:Waterfall at Plitvice Lakes, Croatia.jpg|Waterfall
Image:Plitvitce lakes seen from a cave Croatia.jpg|View from a cave
Image:PLNP map CIMG8848.JPG|Park map
Image:Plitvice-RaiCast-2006.JPG|Lake behind a waterfall
Further Information
Get more info on 'Plitvice Lakes National Park'.
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