Krka National Park | |
---|---|
Park | |
Location of Krka N.P. within Croatia | |
Coordinates: 43°48′07″N 15°58′22″E / 43.80194°N 15.97278°E | |
Country | Croatia |
County | Šibenik-Knin County |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Website | Krka national park |
Krka National Park (Croatian: Nacionalni park Krka) is one of the Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (ancient Greek: Kyrikos) that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia, in Šibenik-Knin county, downstream Miljevci area, and just a few kilometers northeast of the city of Šibenik. It was formed to protect the Krka River and is intended primarily for scientific, cultural, educational, recreational, and tourism activities. It is the seventh national park in Croatia and was proclaimed a national park in 1985.
The Krka National Park is located entirely within the territory of Šibenik-Knin County and encompasses an area of 109 square kilometers along the Krka River: two kilometers downriver from Knin to Skradin and the lower part of the river Čikola. The Krka National Park is a spacious, largely unchanged region of exceptional and multifaceted natural value, and includes one or more preserved or insignificantly altered ecosystems. The Krka Waterfalls has the second highest concentration of lavender per km squared in Europe, hence the high frequency of wasps and bees in the area.
The Krka National Park belongs to the Southern European (Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean) region. Due to its special position and the mosaic distribution of various types of habitats, it is characterized by exceptionally rich and varied flora and fauna.
Eight hundred and sixty species and subspecies of plants have been identified within the territory of the Krka National Park, including several endemic Illyrian-Adriatic species.
Eighteen species of fish inhabit the Krka River, among which ten are endemic, making the Krka a natural landmark of the highest category. Brown trout and Dalmatian barbelgudgeon are a couple of fish that can be found in the ecosystem.