Year of inscription on the UNESCO list: 1979
The Plitvice lakes National park are the most popular Croatian park and one of the most renown in Europe. The Lakes have been protected as a National park since 1949. However, constant preservation and research of this natural fenomenon had started at the very beggining of the XXth century.
The biggest value of the National park is the unique geological and hydrogeological fenomenon of the Lakes themselves. The Lakes are a natural complex of 16 cascaded lakes of various sizes, separated by travertine barriers. Different plants, algae and mosses hav played a crucial role in the formation of the Lakes, piling up the travertine and building up the barriers. This process had never finishe and the barriers still grow at a rate of about half an inch every year, makin the Plitvice Lakes nature's unfinished work of art.
Apart from the hydrogeological fenomenon, the area of the National park is interesting for the vast and well preserved forest areas, some of which qualify as rain forest and are additionally protected. The variety of places and living conditions make possible for different species of plants and animals to live freely, out of which the most notable are respectable populations of bears and wolves.
Due to the imense sensitivity of travertine forming organisms to water constitution and climate changes, the phenomenon of the Plitvice Lakes seeks constant protection. This is the reason, apart from its outstanding beatuy, they have been enrolled on the UNESCO Natural Heritage list in 1979.
