Dinaric Alps

Coordinates: 45°N 17°E / 45°N 17°E / 45; 17
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Dinaric Alps
Maja Jezercë in Albania
Elevation2,694 m (8,839 ft)
Coordinates45°N 17°E / 45°N 17°E / 45; 17
Dimensions
Length645 km (401 mi) NW-SE
Area200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi)
Geography
Countries
Mesozoic era
Type of rockSedimentary

The Dinaric Alps (

Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo to Albania in the southeast.[2][3]

The Dinaric Alps extend for approximately 645 kilometres (401 mi) along the western Balkan Peninsula from the

Maja Jezercë is the highest peak and is located in Albania, standing at 2,694 metres (8,839 ft) above the Adriatic
.

The Dinaric Alps are one of the most rugged and extensive mountainous areas of Europe, alongside the

Drin River
and the plains of Kosovo.

Name

The Dinarides are named after Mount

Serbo-Croatian: Динариди, Dinaridi or Динарско горје Dinarsko gorje [dìnarskòː ɡòːrjeː]; Slovene: Dinarsko gorstvo [dìnarskòː ɡòːrstvòː]
.

Geology

Valbona Pass, northern Albania

The Dinaric Karst region is built mostly of

Serbo-Croatian: Prokletije), a range on the northern Albanian border that runs east to west (thus breaking the general geographic trend of the Dinaric system), there is evidence of major glaciation. One geological feature of great importance to the present-day landscape of the Dinarides must be considered in more detail: that of the limestone mountains, often with their attendant faulting. They are hard and slow to erode, and often persist as steep jagged escarpments, through which steep-sided gorges and canyons are cleft by the rivers draining the higher slopes.[citation needed
]

The partially submerged western Dinaric Alps form the numerous islands and harbors along the Croatian coast.

Mount Mučanj, lower Dinarides, western Serbia

Rivers in Dinaric karst

The surroundings of Foča. Bosnia and Herzegovina

The most extensive example of limestone mountains in Europe are those of the Karst of the Dinaric Alps. Here, all the characteristic features are encountered again and again as one travels through this wild and underpopulated country. Limestone is a very porous rock, yet very hard and resistant to

caverns, sinkholes and grottoes
and forming underground labyrinths of channels and shafts. The roofs of some of these caverns may eventually fall in, to produce great perpendicular-sided gorges, exposing the surface to the water once more.

The Dinaric rivers carved many canyons characteristic for Dinaric Alps, and in particular karst. Among the largest and most well known are the

Lim, and the Drin
.

Only along the Dinaric gorges is communication possible across the Karst, and roads and railways tunnel through precipitous cliffs and traverse narrow ledges above roaring torrents. A number of springs and rivers rise in the Dinaric range, including

Jadro River, for example, indicates the low pollutant levels present.[10] Rock faces are often bare of vegetation and glaring white, but what little soil there is may collect in the hollows and support lush lime-tolerant vegetation, or yield narrow strips of cultivation.[citation needed
]

Human activity

Ruins of fortresses dot the mountainous landscape, evidence of centuries of war and the refuge the Dinaric Alps have provided to various armed forces. During the Roman period, the Dinarides provided shelter to the

broken anchor]. In the 20th century, too, the mountains provided favourable terrain for guerrilla warfare, with Yugoslav Partisans organising one of the most successful Allied resistance movements of World War II.[citation needed
]

The area remains underpopulated, and forestry and mining remain the chief economic activities in the Dinaric Alps. The people of the Dinaric Alps are on record as being the tallest in the world, with an average male adolescent height of 185.6 cm (6 ft 1.1 in).[11] The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina have the highest recorded average of any single country, with 183.9 cm average for men and 171.8 cm for women.[12][13][14]

Mountain passes

The main mountain passes of the Dinaric Alps are:[15]

  • Postojna Gate (Postojnska vrata), Slovenia (606 m or 1,988 ft),
  • Vratnik pass
    , Croatia (700 m or 2,297 ft)
  • Debelo brdo, Serbia (1,094 m or 3,589 ft)
  • Knin Gate (Kninska vrata), Croatia (about 700 m or 2,297 ft)
  • Vaganj, Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina (1,137 m or 3,730 ft)
  • Ivan-Saddle (Ivan-sedlo), Bosnia-Herzegovina (967 m or 3,173 ft)
  • Kupres Gate (Kupreška vrata), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1,384 m or 4,541 ft)
  • Čemerno, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1,329 m or 4,360 ft)
  • Crkvine, Montenegro (1,045 m or 3,428 ft)
  • Čakor, Montenegro (1,849 m or 6,066 ft)

Tunnels

Major tunnels transversing the Dinaric Alps include:

Mountains and plateaus

Vlašić Group
C4: Central Bosnia Mountains
C5: Eastern Bosnia Mountains
C6: Central and Eastern Bosnia Mountains - Jahorina Group
C7: Mountains of Stara Vlaha and Raska (Sandžak) - Polymers-Podrinje Group
C8: Mountains of Stara Vlaha and Raška (Sandžak) - Zlatarsko-pešterska Group
C9: Mountains of the Old Mountains - the central group
C10: Mountains of Serbia - Podrinje-valjevo mountains
C11: Pre-Dinaric Mountains: Kozara (NW) och Majevica
(SE).

The mountains and plateaus within the Dinarides are found in the following regions:

Albania

  • Maja Jezercë
    - (highest peak)
  • Maja Grykat e Hapëta
  • Maja Radohimës
  • Maja e Popljuces
  • Maja Briaset
  • Maja Hekurave
  • Maja Shnikut
  • Maja Tat
  • Kolata e Mirë
  • Maja Rosit
  • Maja Kokervhake
  • Maja Shkurt
  • Maja Malësores
  • Maja e Ragamit
  • Maja Bojs
  • Maja Vukoces
  • Shkëlzen
  • Maja e Kakisë

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatia

Italy

Kosovo

Montenegro

Serbia

Slovenia

References

  1. ^ "Dinaric". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ Profile, dictionary.reference.com; accessed 25 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Visit Dinaric Alps".
  4. ^ .
  5. ^ .
  6. .
  7. .
  8. . Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  9. ^ "C.Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", A. Burnham ed, 6 October 2007". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  10. S2CID 21572417
    .
  11. . This study contributes to an update of average heights among European populations. Our investigation covering 2705 boys and 2842 girls aged 17 years, shows that, contrary to the general belief, adolescents of the Dinaric Alps are, on average, the tallest in Europe. With an average height of 185.6 cm, they are taller than Dutch adolescents (184 cm on average).
  12. ^ Stevo Popović; Gabriela Doina Tanase; Duško Bjelica (2015). "Body Height and Arm Span in Bosnian and Herzegovinian Adults" (.pdf). mjssm.me. Montennegro Journal of Sports Sci. Medicine 4 (2015) 1: Original scientific paper. pp. 29–36. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Countries with the Tallest Average Heights".
  14. ^ "BiH na prvom mjestu liste zemalja s najvišim ljudima u svijetu".
  15. ^ Summitpost. Dinaric Alps: Passes in the Dinaric Alps, Retrieved 19 November 2008
  16. ^ Dinaric Alps, The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

External links