| Name | Velebit |
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| Photo | Svetirok.tunnel.JPG |
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| Photo caption | The Sveti Rok Tunnel passes underneath the Velebit. |
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| Elevation m | 1757 |
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| Map | Croatia |
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| Map caption | The highest peak of Velebit |
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| Label position | left |
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| Location | Croatia |
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| Range | Dinaric Alps |
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| Lat d | 44 | lat_m = 32 | lat_s = | lat_NS = N |
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| Long d | 15 | long_m = 14 | long_s = | long_EW = E |
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Velebit (Italian: Alpi Bebie) is the largest though not the highest mountain range in Croatia. Its highest peak is the Vaganski Vrh at 1757 m.
The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the northwest near Senj with the Vratnik mountain pass and ends 145 km to the southeast near the source of the Zrmanja river reasonably near Knin.
The important characteristic of Velebit are its simple, solid form, stiff cliffs, and the nakedness of seaward side and the wood-covered slopes of the Lika side. The basic geological characteristic of the mountains is karst; flora and fauna are abundant. The most popular spots on Velebit are: the peak of Vučjak, above Zavižan, the botanical gardens on Zavižan, Rožanski kukovi, Štirovača and the Paklenica National Park.
The regions
Velebit is usually divided into four regions:
the northern part between the mountain passes Vratnik and Veliki Alan, with the highest peak Mali Rajinac (1699 m)
the middle part between Veliki Alan and Baške Oštarije with the highest peak Šatorina (1624 m)
the southern part between Oštarije and Mali Alan (peaks Vaganski vrh - 1757, Sveto brdo - 1753,)
the southeastern part with Crnopac as the most remarkable peak
Velebit as a whole is a nature park, from which two national parks have been carved out: Paklenica and Sjeverni Velebit.
A further category of even more careful nature preservation exists within Sjeverni Velebit, the special reservation Hajdučki i Rožanski Kukovi, under the highest nature protection available in Croatia. Officially no human activity is allowed there (except research). These are the mostly still unexplored and wild places and probably will stay that way in the future.
A pathway called Premužićeva staza (Premužić's pathway) leads through the northern and middle parts of Velebit. This pathway was built between 1930 and 1933 and it connects northern and southern Velebit. Its length is 50 km. Many parts of Velebit would not be reachable without it. The Velebit mountains are transversed by the A1 through the Sveti Rok Tunnel.
Peaks and areas of Velebit
* Zavizan area - North Velebit (Mali Rajinac) (1699m)
Rozanski Kukovi group - North Velebit (Gromovaca (1676m) and Vratarski Kuk (1676m))
Alancic, Rozanski Vrh, Seravski Vrh, North Velebit (Goli Vrh (1670m))
Veliki Kozjak (1629m), North Velebit
Satorina (1624m) - Mid Velebit
Stap area - South Velebit, (Debeli Kuk) (1269m)
Visocica (1619m) - South Velebit
Bojin Kuk (1110m) - South Velebit
Viserujna (1632m) and Rujno - South Velebit
Paklenica area - South Velebit
Vaganski vrh (1757m) - South Velebit (highest peak of Velebit)
Liburnija (1710m) - South Velebit
Sveto Brdo (1751m) - South Velebit
Tulove Grede (1120m) - Southeast Velebit
Crnopac (1404m) - Southeast Velebit
Around 70 peaks exceed 1600m.
The caves
There are hundreds of "holes" on Velebit. It has the largest and deepest
caves in Croatia. The three-part "Lukina jama" cave is 1392 m deep, making it one of the deepest caves in the world, and the deepest in southeast Europe
, while the "Slovačka jama" is 1320 m. What makes it very particular is that it is completely vertical, steepest in the world. At the bottom of the pothole is a water course or siphon with branches that are still unexplored. A kind of leech was discovered in the pothole, which has been ascertained to represent a new species, genus and family; it has been named "Croatobranchus mestrovi".
See
Velebit caves.
List of potholes on Velebit, deeper than 500m:
#Lukina Jama, 1392m, Hajducki Kukovi - North Velebit
#Slovacka Jama, 1320m, Rozanski Kukovi - North Velebit
#Velebita, 941m, Rozanski Kukovi - North Velebit
#Meduza, 679m, Rozanski Kukovi - North Velebit
#Patkov Gust, 553m, Hajducki Kukovi - North Velebit
#Ledena Jama, 536m, Lomska Duliba - North Velebit
#Ponor na Bunovcu, 534m, Bunovac - South Velebit
#Jama Olimp, 531m, Hajducki Kukovi - North Velebit
#Lubuska Jama, 521m, Hajducki Kukovi - North Velebit
It is also home to Degenia velebitica, an endemic and protected species of plant in the mustard family discovered in 1907 by the Hungarian botanist Àrpàd von Degen.
The imposing nature of the Velebit mountain has made it something of a national symbol in Croatian folklore. There is a patriotic folk song Vila Velebita that personifies a fairy in Velebit.
Velebit in literature
In older European literature Velebit was known as
Montagna della Morlacca. The Venetians called it
Morlachia, which derives from the fact that there used to be
Morlaks, black (
mauros) Latins or black "Vlasi" (
Wallachians) shepherds of Romanic origin, living in the Velebit area down to
Lake Skadar after the Slavic colonisation. These same shepherds fled from the
Turks from Velebit to
Krk or into
Istria.
See also
List of mountains in Croatia
Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Croatia
Further reading
Literature about the Velebit that is available includes:
* Sergej Forenbacher's Velebit and its plant world.
Željko Poljak's Mountains of Croatia.
References
External links
Velebit nature park
Category:Dinaric Alps
Category:Mountains of Croatia
Category:Nature parks of Croatia
