Description of the attraction
The Northern Velebit National Park is located in the north of the Velebit mountain range. Together with Paklenica National Park, Northern Velebit forms a single natural complex. The Adriatic coast is located a few kilometers from Northern Velebit. The city of Senj is twenty kilometers north of the park, and the city of Zadar is one hundred kilometers south of the park.
There are 8 national parks in Croatia. Northern Velebit is the youngest of them, it was founded in 1999. The total area of the park is 109 sq. km. The highest peak in the territory of this park is Mount Zavizhan, its height is 1676 meters.
Various habitats are mixed in the park: forests, meadows, rocks, waters, etc. All of them are interconnected, because many species of animals living in this area use different types of terrain for life.
From the point of view of the layman, it may seem that the landscapes are something unchanging, that the park has always looked the way it looks at the moment. Of course, this is a misconception. The present look of the park is the result of long-term natural processes, development, various influences, etc. Currently, the development of the area is also continuing, the consequences of this development can not always be predicted, because they depend on a huge number of factors (and not only natural).
Today, most of the park is occupied by forests (over 80% of the area). Depending on the height, the type of trees changes, the forest tracts can be compared to belts encircling the Velebit mountains in different areas. If you go up from the coast to the mountains, you will find yourself in a beech forest, along which the border between coastal and inland vegetation passes. Here you can observe an interesting phenomenon: in this area, beech has a curved shape in the lower part - this is due to the pressure of snow on young trees.
A little higher, there are relict pine forests that have been preserved in this area since ancient times. They are not distributed throughout the park, but only in small areas in several areas.
Among the rocks and vegetation live species that are well adapted to such natural conditions. Most often these are small animals such as snails, spiders, insects, reptiles and rodents, but large animals like goats are also found here. In addition, the rocks are suitable for nesting the numerous bird species in the park.
