The
VelebitVelebit 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...
mountain of
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
is believed to have several
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
s with some of the world's greatest subterranean vertical drops.
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The
VelebitVelebit 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...
mountain of
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
is believed to have several
caveA cave or cavern is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and...
s with some of the world's greatest subterranean vertical drops.
The cave "Patkov Gušt" is 553 meters deep and is the second deepest
pitch-Climbing:In rock climbing and ice climbing, a pitch is a steep section of a route that requires a rope between two belays, as part of a climbing system...
in the world .
"Lukina jama" cave is 1392 m deep and is the deepest pit of Croatia.
Other notable caves include the "Slovacka jama" (
SlovakThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
pit), (1,320 m deep), "Velebita" (1026 m deep with underground free fall vertical drop of 513
metreThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
s ) and "Meduza" (679 m deep).
At the foot of the Lukina jama, there are ponds and streams including one of the largest known colonies of subterranean
leechesLeeches are annelids comprising the subclass Hirudinea. There are freshwater, terrestrial, and marine leeches. Like the Oligochaeta, they share the presence of a clitellum. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites...
.
Lukina jama, Slovacka jama, Velebita and Meduza are located at the "Hajdučki i Rožanski kukovi" special reserve, a dedicated part of the Sjeverni Velebit
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a national government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development...
.
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