DINARIC ALPS: TOPOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY AND RELIEF - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The Dinaric Alps (called Dinarsko Gorje in Croatian) make up a mountainous system of alpine origin that is located in the territories of Croatia and Slovenia. They are made up of plateaus and calcareous mountain ranges that are oriented from the Northwest to the Southeast, and are parallel to the Adriatic Sea. Its constitution is solid and in its transversal sense it is impenetrable. Its extension includes the southeastern end of the Alps, to the Northwest, and extends to the Southeast.

On the Adriatic slope, which is on the Dalmatian coast, the Dinaric Alps have high and abrupt white limestone cliffs, which are surrounded by elongated islands that are parallel to them and are nothing but partially submerged mountain ridges.

To the east of this coastal wall extends the great limestone Karst plateau, in which the erosion of the waters on the limestone materials has given rise to a characteristic type of relief that is known as karst relief.

Much further to the east of this plateau there is a high mountain area that culminates with Durmitor, which rises to 2,522 meters above sea level, although the highest peak is Maja Jezercë, at 2,694 meters.

Likewise, the Dinaric Alps are found in eight countries that share their topography, relief, geology, passes, communication routes and even their plateaus and elevations. In this way, the Dinaric Alps are a natural link between various European countries.

Archaeological excavations have been able to show that the Dinaric Alps have had human settlements for centuries. For example, the Romans had passed through there in the 3rd century BC. C., since this was a way towards the conquest of towns located to the East of Italy.

This was also an area of ​​strategic importance for the war against the Ottoman Empire and the resistance of the Yugoslav partisans during World War II.

Geographical distribution of the Dinaric Alps

The Dinaric Alps are spread over the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, the Republic of Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. It stretches for about 645 kilometers that go from Northwest to Southeast, with a triangular shape that borders the Julian Alps to the North and the Adriatic Sea to the East.

By extension, the Dynastic Alps constitute the fifth longest mountain range in Europe, just below the Pyrenees and the Caucasus Mountains.

Topography and relief

Although the Dinaric Alps have had human settlement for more than a millennium, it has not been constant or nourished, so there has been relatively little human activity on their lands and, consequently, it has resulted in less erosion since the urban planning and agriculture.

The geological composition of this mountain range also makes it resistant to sudden changes in the landscape that can be produced by the wind or by nearby rivers, such as the Drina River.

There is, in fact, a predominant presence of mountains in the Dinaric Alps, so there are practically no extensive plains. It is thanks to this structure that this formation allows sinkholes, grottos and caverns to be observed that give rise to labyrinthine series of passages and channels that connect various sections of this mountain range.

geology

The geology of the Dinaric Alps corresponds to the Mesozoic Era, with sedimentary rocks that predominate among the rocks that make up this mountain range, which was formed about 50 or 100 million years ago.

The Dinaric Alps in general have a variety that, from a mineralogical perspective, includes sand, dolomite and limestone, apart from conglomerates that are the result of their position close to the Adriatic Sea and the lakes that converge throughout the entire area.

Steps and ways of communication

Several of the most outstanding passes and communication routes of the Dinaric Alps go through its main mountains. Several of these touch the territories of Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and, to a lesser extent, Slovenia.

Its length on average is not usually less than 1,000 in extension, although it is not greater than 2,000 meters. Of all the existing tunnels, only the Tuhobić, the Sveti Rok and the Mala Kapela - all in Croatia - are listed as the most relevant.

The smallest pass is the Postojna Bridge, located in Slovenia, which is only about 606 meters long, only followed by the 700-meter Knin Bridge in Croatia and the Vratnik Pass in the same country, 850 meters.

The largest, on the contrary, is the Čakor, which is in Montenegro and has a length of 1,849 meters, surpassing the Cemerno, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, of 1,329 meters, and the Vaganj, which is between this country and Croatia, 1,137 meters.

Most important mountains

The Dinaric Alps undoubtedly make up a mountain range with more than twenty important peaks where snow abounds and, of course, cold climates. The Maja Jezercë, 2,625 meters high, is the highest and is located in Albania, rivaled only by the Maja Grykat e Hapëta (2,625 meters), the Maja Radohimës (2,570 meters) or the Maja e Popljuces (2,569 meters), among many others that are in the same European country.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the highest peak is the Maglić, 2,386 meters high. However, the most famous is the Dinara, since although it is much lower (its top rises up to 1,913 meters) it is the mountain that gives its name to the Dinaric Alps, which are also called Dinarides.

In fact, Mount Dinara is also in the territory of Croatia, a country dominated by other peaks such as Kamešnica (1,855 meters) and Veliki Kozjak (1,207 meters).

Italy does not have mountains in the Dinaric Alps, but it does have the Kras Plateau in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. In turn, the Republic of Kosovo only has three of them (Đeravica / Gjeravica, Gusan / Maja Gusanit and Marijaš / Marijash).

For its part, Montenegro only has four (Bijela gora, Durmitor, Orjen and Zla Kolata) and Serbia and Slovenia, on the other hand, have a greater number of peaks, including Zlatibor (1,496 meters) and Sveta Gera (1,178 meters).

References

1. Abraham, Rudolf (2011). Walking in Croatia, 2nd edition. Cumbria: Cicerone Press Limited.
2. National Geographic Traveler: Croatia (2015), 2nd edition. Washington DC: National Geographic Society.
3. Dinarsko Gorje (No year). About the Dinaric Alps. Zagreb, Croatia: Dinarsko Gorje Webpage. Recovered from dinarskogorje.com.
4. Trecanni Encyclopedia (2017). Dinaridi. Rome, Italy: Treccani. Recovered from treccani.it
5. Encyclopaedia Britannica (2016). Dinaric Alps. London, UK: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved from britannica.com.
6. Eterovich, Francis H. (1964). Croatia: Land, People, Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
7. Ostergren, Robert C. and Rice, John G. (2011). The Europeans: A Geography of People, Culture, and Environment, 1st ed. New York: Guilford Press.
8. Unwin, Tim (1998). A European Geography. London: Longman.