Velebit

Velebit (; ; ) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. 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 northwest of Knin.

Its highest peak is the Vaganski vrh at . Major mountain passes on Velebit include the aforementioned Vratnik or Senjsko bilo at 694 m.a.s.l., where the Josephina connects Senj with Josipdol; Oštarijska vrata at 928 m.a.s.l. that connects Karlobag and Gospić; The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service has a permanent measurement station at Zavižan.

the northern part between the mountain passes Vratnik and Veliki Alan, with the highest peaks including:
Mali Rajinac (1699 m)
Veliki Zavižan (1676 m)
Veliki (Zavižanski) Pivčevac (1676 m)
Gromovača (1676 m)
the middle part between Veliki Alan and Baške Oštarije with the highest peaks including:
Šatorina (1622 m)
Zečjak (1622 m)
Laktin vrh (1504 m)
the southern part between Oštarije and Mali Alan, with the highest peaks including:
Vaganski vrh (1758 m)
Sveto brdo (1751 m)
Visočica (1615 m)
Crnopac (1402 m) in the far southeastern part

thumb|right|The back side of the Velebit mountain

Velebit as a whole is a nature park, from which two national parks have been carved out: Paklenica and Sjeverni Velebit (Northern 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 . 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

thumb|right|[[Paklenica National Park]]

Zavižan area – North Velebit (Mali Rajinac) (1699 m)
Rožanski Kukovi group – North Velebit (Gromovaca (1676 m) and Vratarski Kuk (1676 m)
Alančić, Rožanski Vrh, Seravski Vrh, North Velebit (Goli Vrh (1670 m)
Veliki Kozjak (1629 m), North Velebit
Šatorina (1624 m) – Mid Velebit
Stap area – South Velebit, (Debeli Kuk) (1269 m)
Visočica (1619 m) – South Velebit
Bojin Kuk (1110 m) – South Velebit
Viserujna (1632 m) and Rujno – South Velebit
Paklenica area – South Velebit
Vaganski vrh (1758 m) – South Velebit (highest peak of Velebit)
Liburnija (1710 m) – South Velebit
Sveto Brdo (1751 m) – South Velebit
Tulove Grede (1120 m) – Southeast Velebit
Crnopac (1404 m) – Southeast Velebit

Some 45 peaks exceed 1600 m. There is also a smaller peak of Pljišivica in the north of Velebit (1560 m).

In the categorization of 113 of the highest points of Croatia by professor Vladimir Volenec, first published in 1990 and revised in 2015, there are 76 peaks from the Velebit. It was discovered in 1907 by the Hungarian botanist Árpád von Degen. Other endemic plant species include Arenaria orbicularis, Crocus malyi, Euphorbia triflora, Hieracium velebiticum, Hieracium obrovacense, Knautia pectinata, and Knautia velebitica.

thumb|center|640px|Typical Velebit landscape

Climate

Between 1962 and 2010, the highest temperature recorded at the Baške Oštarije weather station was , on 22 August 2000. The lowest temperature was , on 3 March 2005.

Since records began in 1954, the highest temperature recorded at the Zavižan weather station at an elevation of was , on 22 July 2015.

Mountain huts

In the 1935–1936 season, the Gojtanov dom mountain hut (open 1 May through 31 October), at in elevation on Visočica, saw 232 visitors, including 3 Russian citizens. The mountain hut on Crnopac, at , normally open from 1 May to 31 October was closed at the time, but open year-round the next season. In the 1936–1937 season, it saw 149 visitors. In the 1937–1938 season, Gojtanov dom saw no visitors; the hut on Crnopac and the new mountain shelter on Bunovac were open.

Velebit in literature

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.

In the Republic of Venice, Velebit was known as Montagna della Morlacca ("Mountain of the Morlach"), named after the Morlachs, an originally Romance ethnic group that eventually got assimilated into the local Croatian population, a generally socio-cultural and professional segment of the Slavic-speaking population rather than a Romance-speaking ethnicity.

Planine, the first Croatian novel by Petar Zoranić, was inspired by the Velebit mountain.

Gallery

File:Senj (HR), Nördlicher Velebit, Kapelle „Kapelica sv. Antuna“ -- 2022 -- 0731.jpg|Saint Anthony's Chapel

File:240530 View to Tulove Grede (May 2024) (1 von 1).jpg|Tutlove grede

File:Fields of Velebit.jpg|Velebit field

File:Pogled sa Velikog Rujna na Bojinac.jpg|Veliko Rujno

File:Veliko Rujno s Bojinca.jpg|Bojinac

File:National Park Sjeverni Velebit in Croatia (18900256881).jpg |Starigrad underneath Velebit

File:Lomska-Duliba Uvala NatPark-Velebit Dinarides Croatia.jpg|Lomska uvala

File:Velebit u daljini.jpg|Velebit seen from Pag island

File:Zavratnica, Croatia.jpg|Zavratnica

File:PP09 Velebit - Lika, Šibenik-Knin 12.jpg|Sveti Rok Tunnel

File:Uvala Veliki-Lubenovac Northern-Velebit Dinarides Croatia.jpg|Northern Velebit

File:Senj (HR), Nördlicher Velebit, Kvarner Bucht vom Velika Kosa -- 2022 -- 0656.jpg|Kvarner Gulf seen from the summit of Velika Koss in northern Velebit in Croatia

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References

External links

Velebit nature park