Orjen
Encyclopedia
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in Southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro....
Mediterranean limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
range in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
-Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. At 1894 m (6225 ft), Zubački kabao
Zubacki kabao
thumb|Zubacki kabao with a small snowpatch in JuneZubački kabao is a mountain in Montenegro. At 1,894 m, it is the highest summit of the Orjen range in the Dinaric Alps...
is the highest peak in the subadriatic Dinarides
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in Southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro....
. The massif of Orjen lies to the Northwest of Risan
Risan
Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...
in Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
(Boka Kotorska). From the town of Risan, situated at the innermost protected part of the bay, a well-engineered road, at first metalled, with many hairpin bends climbs to about 1600 m, over to the interior. At the main summit of Orjen and the surrounding ridges and high plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
x the action or quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
glaciation is evident. In Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
long valley glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s receded from Orjen to the Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
and surrounding poljes. Hollowing U-shaped valleys and cirques in their course. Glaciers also shaped jagged peaks and ridges. Glacial and karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
type relief combine now in a unique coastal scenery. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, few places show similar phenomena.
The Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor is a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage site, comprising the territory between Orjen and Lovćen, including all the small towns in the bays of Risan and Kotor with their natural setting. With this privileged natural harbour the Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
has been settled for millennia. Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
and Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
colonised the coast from 400 BC and established today's ports Risan
Risan
Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...
(Rhizon) and Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
(Cattaro). Due to lack of potable water the high mountain was never densely populated. Snow patches collected from deep pit holes were used even late in the 20th century to provide the few hamlets with water. Today wells are used instead.
Geography
Mount Orjen is a block mountain lifted up as a horst and thus towering above the lowered Bay of Kotor and the high karst plateaux surrounding the Mount Orjen horst. With 1894 m difference between the lowest and the highest point, relief energy has a great role in the extremely harsh environmentNatural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
. A hyperkarstic barren landscape of vast karren fields contrasts with very species rich vegetation types, ranging from evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forests at lower altitudes to endemic calcareous Dinaric Fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
and Pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
forests in higher altitudes. Precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
reaches 5000 l per m², amounts typical for tropical rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s or the eastern Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
than the dry Mediterranean. Lying at Europe's wettest coast, snow easily accumulates on karstic plateaux and as late as June small snow patches continue to lie in shaded places under the summits. Skiing is possible but no relevant infrastructures exist today. Orjen is a more important hiking destination. Three mountain huts provide basic accommodation.
Orjen comprises an area of about 400 km² and runs for 25 km from Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
in the west to Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
in the east. Mount Orjen is composed of four high karstic plateaux divided by ridges. Three near parallel ridges collide in Zubački kabao
Zubacki kabao
thumb|Zubacki kabao with a small snowpatch in JuneZubački kabao is a mountain in Montenegro. At 1,894 m, it is the highest summit of the Orjen range in the Dinaric Alps...
, Orjens' culmination point. The ridges are arranged by elevation with the highest to the north screening the Bijela gora plateaux from the Mediterranean coast. The separated plateaux are the Krivošije
Krivošije
Krivošije is a clan and a high plateau on the eastern branches of Mount Orjen in Montenegro, near Kotor. A significant geological/geomorphological feature of the Krivošije region are the glacial deposits distributed across the whole of the plateau...
to the East, Bijela gora
Bijela gora
thumb|300px|Cirque Borovi do in the north at Bijela goraBijela gora is a karstic high plateau between 1200–1500 m on the northern side of Orjen in Montenegro. At 1862 m, Velika Jastrebica is the highest summit...
to the North, and Dobri do and Vrbanj to the West. Only few settlements are scattered in surrounding poljes. The poljes of Grahovo, Dragalj, Vrbanj, Krusevica and Grabalj are important for agricultural use and provide the only lines of communication in the karst. Migration circled around Mount Orjen as a major obstacle between the coastal, Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants...
and Risan
Risan
Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...
and the interior towns of Grahovo
Grahovo
Grahovo is a tribe in western Montenegro. It contains the village of Grahovac, which was the sight of the Battle of Grahovac.-History:In the early 17th century, during the Sanjak of Scutari, Grahovo was commanded by Mile Perin....
, Trebinje
Trebinje
Trebinje is the southernmost municipality and town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity and is located in southeastern Herzegovina, some from the Adriatic Sea....
and Niksic
Nikšic
Nikšić is a city in Montenegro . In 2003 the city had a total population about 75,000.Nikšić is located in Nikšić plain, at the foot of Mount Trebjesa. It is the center of the municipality , which is the largest in Montenegro by area...
.
Several dry river valleys are found on Orjen. Only in decades they react as short-living rivers when heavy rain and snow-melt combine. Flooding can be a problem and several poljes are renowned for their long inundation periods.
Glacial traces
Mediterranean mountains bear no glacierGlacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s any more except small snow field
Snow field
A snow field, snowfield or neve is a permanent accumulation of snow and ice, typically found below the snow line. Normally the term is applied to mountainous and glacial terrain. In glaciology, the term refers to areas of permanent snow cover....
s in some shaded cirques of the Taurus
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
range. Even during the pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
snowlines were not much lower as in today's Alps. Glaciers were only of local significance in the Mediterranean enabling frost sensitive vegetation types to survive the climate changes of the Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
.
Among the once glaciated Mediterranean mountains Orjen was outstanding for one of the biggest ice cap in the region. A 150 km² covered 1/3 of the area. All part above 900 m were buried under a thick sheet of ice from where several glacial tonges descended to 500 m above sea level. Traces of glacial activity are evident in any part of Orjen as in the Bijela gora
Bijela gora
thumb|300px|Cirque Borovi do in the north at Bijela goraBijela gora is a karstic high plateau between 1200–1500 m on the northern side of Orjen in Montenegro. At 1862 m, Velika Jastrebica is the highest summit...
plateaux. No glacial lakes survive today as they were extinguished due to the porosity of the karstified landscape.
Many cirques
Cirque (landform)
thumb|250 px|Two cirques with semi-permanent snowpatches in [[Abisko National Park]], [[Sweden]].A cirque or corrie is an amphitheatre-like valley head, formed at the head of a valley glacier by erosion...
, U-shaped valleys and moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
s and jagged ridges and summits bear the evidence of the glacial erosion.
In stoneage and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
humans settled in the Orjen region. This early human activity is depicted by rock paintings of deerhunt and humans in Lipci in Risan
Risan
Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...
bay. A major Bronze Age excavation site is at Popovo polje to the north of Mount Orjen.
Karst
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. As precipitation and temperatures are high and vegetation is abundant karstification processes are evolved. Lapiez, sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s and cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s resolve from the solution of the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. The solution process is the faster the more water is available for solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
. Vegetation and soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
formation play also a role in the process.
A major disadvantage is that the water is percolating fast in the porous rocks and does not form brooks and rivers despite the heavy amounts of precipitation. An overall dryness is characteristic that is unsuitable for settling.
Thus the region has been depopulated for a long time. Only during times of repression the unfavourable high mountains were mainly populated by Montenegrin tribes. During the time of the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule from the 15th to the 19th century the high karst was acting as main shelter for the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
population. Military campaigns of Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and Austro-Hungarians faced heavy losses while both great powers underestimated the difficulties to undertake successful raids in karst areas. The battle of Vucji dol between Montenegrins and Turks and the Krivošije
Krivošije
Krivošije is a clan and a high plateau on the eastern branches of Mount Orjen in Montenegro, near Kotor. A significant geological/geomorphological feature of the Krivošije region are the glacial deposits distributed across the whole of the plateau...
uprising in 1869 showed that the Montenegrins used the natural conditions in their favour.
Karst is also a major tourist attraction as caves are frequent and peculiar geomorphological forms can be studied. Karst vegetation on the other hand is species rich and major karst areas are hot spots of biodiversity. The both famous Southeast Asian karst areas like the Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
tower karst region in Southern China or Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
island in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and the Mediterranean dinaric karst areas with the Plitvice lakes
Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina...
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro rival with spectacularity.
Geology
Tectonically the area of the Southern Adriatic is very active as the frequency of earthquakeEarthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s indicates. As the Adriatic Plate subduces under the Dinarids, earthquakes can have devastating energy sometimes even Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s are observed.
Mount Orjen is completely build up of folded Cretaceous limestones which belongs to the High-Karst Zone geological unit.
The High-Karst Zone has the greatest extent in the territory of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. The terrain of this geotectonic unit is mainly built up of Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
(Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
, Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
and Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
) limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
s and dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
s of several kilometres of thickness. This thickness is even larger, due to the reverse faulting
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
and overthrusting and thus repeating of carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
series. The karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
of this region is characterised by all surface occurrences and all processes characteristic for holokarst such as: karst plain, polje
Polje
A polje is a large flat plain in karst territory, with areas usually 5 to 400 km². The name derives from the Slavic languages and is a cognate with the English word field.-In geology:...
, uvala
Uvala
Uvala is a village in the municipality of Drvar, Bosnia and Herzegovina....
, sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
, dry-, hanging-, blind- and karstified valley, lapies, canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
, shaft, cave, resurgence, vrulja, estavelle and so on.
The karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
ification of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
s and dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
s in this area is below the base level of erosion, below the sea level and is deeper than 1,000 m. The High-Karst Zone has all the prominent characteristics of fluvial erosion (deep canyons of Komarnica and Morača
Morača
Morača is a river in Montenegro. It originates in northern Montenegro, under Rzača mountain. It generally flows southwards for some , before emptying into Lake Skadar....
rivers with their tributaries), glacial erosion (on Mount Orjen), lacustrine, sea and combined erosion.
Along the internal belt of Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
, from Morinj, across Risan
Risan
Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro...
to Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
, the High-Karst Zone is in direct contact with the sea, as the High-Karst Zone overthrusts the Pindus Cukali Zone where Mount Orjen rises from the Bay of Risan. The direct contact of the Adriatic sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
and the High-Karst Zone leads to interesting hydrological phenomena. In these terrains the largest vrulja on the Adriatic coast, called Sopot, is located. The vast differences in water-yielding capacity of the constant and periodic karst springs point out to the strong karstification of High-Karst Zone limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
s and dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
s on Mount Orjen. The difference between minimal and maximal water yielding capacity is over 350 m³.
Climate
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
rain is seasonally distributed, thus November thunderstorms sometimes pour 2000 l of water in several days, while August is frequently completely dry leading to forest fires. With a maximum discharge of 200 m³/s water one of the biggest karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
s, the Sopot spring, is a remarkable indicator of this seasonality. Most of the time it is inactive but after heavy rain a remarkable waterfall appears 20 m above the Bay of Kotor.
| Station | Height [m] | Type | Character | Precipitation [mm] | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zubacki kabao Zubacki kabao thumb|Zubacki kabao with a small snowpatch in JuneZubački kabao is a mountain in Montenegro. At 1,894 m, it is the highest summit of the Orjen range in the Dinaric Alps... |
1894 | Dfsc | perhumid Mediterranean snowclimate | ca. 6250 | ap. 140 days |
| Crkvice Crkvice Crkvice is a village on Orjen mountain in Montenegro and is the wettest place in Europe. The average annual precipitation for the period 1931-1960 was 4927 mm and for 1961-1990 4631 mm... |
940 | Cfsb | (fs= without summerdryness), perhumid Mediterranean mountain climate | 4926 | 70 days |
| Risan Risan Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro... |
0 | Cs’’a | (s’’= double winter rain season), perhumid Mediterranean coast climate | 3500 | 2 days |
classification scheme after Köppen
Two wind systems
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
are noteworthy for their ecological significance: Bora
Bora (wind)
Bora or Bura is a northern to north-eastern katabatic wind in the Adriatic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, and Turkey....
and Sirocco
Sirocco
Sirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe. It is known in North Africa by the Arabic word qibli or ghibli Sirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind...
. Strong cold downslope winds of Bora type appear in winter and are most severe in the Bay of Risan. Gusts reach 250 km/h and can lead to a significant fall of temperatures in several hours with freezing events problematic for most of the Mediterranean cultures. Bora weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
situations are frequent and sailors keep an eye on the mountains as cap clouds indicate an imminent Bora event.
Sirocco is a warm humid rain and is important as it brings heavy rain. It appears throughout the year but is usually centered in autumn and spring.
| Station | Period | Height [m] | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | I-XII [mm/m²a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herceg Novi Herceg Novi Herceg Novi is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants... |
1961-1984 | 40 | 230 | 221 | 183 | 135 | 130 | 73 | 28 | 45 | 160 | 181 | 326 | 262 | 1974 |
| Risan Risan Risan is a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro... |
1961-1984 | 40 | 405 | 342 | 340 | 235 | 153 | 101 | 66 | 123 | 188 | 295 | 423 | 434 | 3105 |
| Grahovo Grahovo Grahovo is a tribe in western Montenegro. It contains the village of Grahovac, which was the sight of the Battle of Grahovac.-History:In the early 17th century, during the Sanjak of Scutari, Grahovo was commanded by Mile Perin.... |
1961-1984 | 710 | 351 | 324 | 305 | 251 | 142 | 94 | 55 | 103 | 202 | 416 | 508 | 473 | 3224 |
| Podvrsnik | 1961-1984 | 630 | 407 | 398 | 367 | 305 | 151 | 101 | 77 | 132 | 238 | 465 | 593 | 586 | 3820 |
| Vrbanje | 1961-1984 | 1010 | 472 | 390 | 388 | 321 | 181 | 104 | 70 | 122 | 224 | 369 | 565 | 536 | 3742 |
| Knezlaz | 1961-1984 | 620 | 547 | 472 | 473 | 373 | 207 | 120 | 72 | 136 | 268 | 400 | 629 | 661 | 4358 |
| Crkvice Crkvice Crkvice is a village on Orjen mountain in Montenegro and is the wettest place in Europe. The average annual precipitation for the period 1931-1960 was 4927 mm and for 1961-1990 4631 mm... |
1961-1984 | 940 | 610 | 499 | 503 | 398 | 198 | 135 | 82 | 155 | 295 | 502 | 714 | 683 | 4774 |
| Ivan. Korita | 1960-1984 | 1350 | 434 | 460 | 742 | 472 | 128 | 198 | 74 | 46 | 94 | 300 | 694 | 972 | 4614 |
| Goli vrh | 1893-1913 | 1311 | 271 | 286 | 307 | 226 | 188 | 148 | 75 | 70 | 215 | 473 | 415 | 327 | 3129 |
| Jankov vrh | 1890-1909 | 1017 | 424 | 386 | 389 | 346 | 212 | 124 | 55 | 58 | 202 | 484 | 579 | 501 | 3750 |
| Cetinje Cetinje Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro... |
1961-1984 | 655 | 434 | 357 | 367 | 288 | 164 | 92 | 72 | 118 | 209 | 306 | 489 | 498 | 3394 |
| Grab-Zubci | 1934-1960 | 677 | 333 | 325 | 257 | 195 | 183 | 83 | 59 | 86 | 173 | 360 | 447 | 485 | 2985 |
| Trebinje Trebinje Trebinje is the southernmost municipality and town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity and is located in southeastern Herzegovina, some from the Adriatic Sea.... |
1931-1960 | 276 | 193 | 190 | 160 | 102 | 119 | 70 | 43 | 76 | 110 | 239 | 247 | 249 | 1762 |
| Dubrovnik Dubrovnik Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641... |
1931-1960 | 49 | 147 | 113 | 102 | 92 | 79 | 60 | 24 | 38 | 97 | 156 | 213 | 186 | 1307 |
monthly and yearly precipitation ranges in Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
Habitats
Mostly limestone rocks but also moraines and screes. Coastal cliffs are present at all parts of the Bay of Kotor. Many forest types can be seen of which Mediterranean deciduous evergreen don't play a significant role. DinaricDinaric
The term Dinaric comes from the name of a mountain called Dinara, on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.* In geography, it is used to describe the Dinaric Alps mountain chain.* In physical anthropology, it is used to describe the Dinaric race....
calcareous fir forests are found in several grooves on the Bijela gora but are difficult to reach. Bosnian pine
Bosnian Pine
The Bosnian Pine is a species of pine native to Bosnia but is also found in the mountains of southeastern Europe, in southwestern Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, northern Greece , and locally in southern Italy ,...
forests are quite widespread on all major ridges. Virgin woodlands still exist, mainly Beech forests.
Vegetation
| Zone [m] | Type | Vegetation (Biotopes) |
|---|---|---|
| 0- 400 | Mesomediterranean ME= Meridional (subtropic belt) | Rusco-carpinetum (Ruscus aculeatus, Carpinus orientalis Carpinus orientalis Carpinus orientalis is a hornbeam native from southeastern Europe to northern Iran and occurs usually on hot dry sites at lower altitudes than European Hornbeam.... ), Orno-Quercetum ilicis (Quercus pubescens, Quercus cerris, Juniperus communis Juniperus communis Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-... , Quercus ilicis), Nerion oleandri (Nerium oleander) |
| 400- 1,100 | Supramediterranean SME= Suprameridinal (subtropic belt) | Quercus trojana (Quercus trojana), Carpinus orientalis (Carpinus orientalis Carpinus orientalis Carpinus orientalis is a hornbeam native from southeastern Europe to northern Iran and occurs usually on hot dry sites at lower altitudes than European Hornbeam.... ), Petterio-Quercetum confertae (Fuk.) Lov. (Petteria Petteria Petteria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Faboideae.... , Quercus conferta), Castaneo-Quercetum pubescentis (Anic) Lov. (Castanea sativa, Quercus pubescens), Seslerio-Ostryetum carpinifoliae Horv. (Sesleria sphaerocephala, Sesleria caerulea, Ostrya Ostrya Ostrya is a genus of eight to ten small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Its common name is Hophornbeam in American English and Hop-hornbeam in British English. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants.The genus is native in southern... carpinifolia) |
| 1,100- 1,450 | Oromediterranean NE= Nemoral (temperate zone) | Seslerio autumnalis–Fagetum (Horv.) Wrab. (Sesleria autumnalis, Fagus sylvatica), Pinion heldreichii (Pinus heldreichii), Oreoherzogio-Abietetum illyricae Fuk. (basic soil, Abies alba), Seslerio autumnalis–Abietetum illyriacae (Horv.) Fuk. |
| 1,450- 1,700 | Altimediterranean BO= Boreal (taiga zone) | Fago-Pinetum heldrecihii Jank. (Fagus sylvatica, Pinus heldreichii), Seslerio robustae-Juniperetum hemisphaericae (Hor.) Kus. (Sesleria robusta, Juniperus communis ssp. Haemispherica), Lonicero-Rhamnion Fuk. (Lonicera nigra, Lonicera alpigena Lonicera alpigena Alpine Honeysuckle is a species of honeysuckle native to mountain forests of Central and Southern Europe. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental plant outside its native range. It is a deciduous shrub up to 2 m high, and in late summer, bears conspicuous brilliant red inedible fruits... , Rhamnus), Amphoricarpion neumayerii (Horv.) Lak. (Amphoricarpos neumayerii) |
| 1,700- 1,900 | Cryomediterranean AL= Alpine (tundra zone) | Trifolio Polganetalia Quéz (Trifolium), Narcisso-Gentianetum nivalis Lov. & Rac (Narcissus, Gentiana nivalis), Drabo-Androsacetalia Quéz (Draba Draba Draba is a large genus of cruciferous plants, commonly known as whitlow-grasses. There are over 400 species:*Draba abajoensis Windham & Al-Shehbaz*Draba × abiskoensis O.E.Schulz*Draba × abiskojokkensis O.E.Schulz... hoppeanae, Androsace alpina Androsace alpina Alpine Rock-Jasmine or Androsace alpina is an alpine plant, endemic to the Alps.-Distribution:In the wild, Androsace alpina grows on silicaceous substrates, particularly granite, and is one of the few plants in the Alps to grow above 4000 metres, including near the summit of the Matterhorn... ), Muscaro-Scillion nivalis Quéz |
- Notes:
- The Vegetation profile on Mount Orjen shows the Mediterranean zones which vary from alpine mountain zones.
- The few plant names are just examples of the plants belonging to the Biotope communities.
- An example of a complete biotope plant list (Oreoherzogio-Abietetum illyricae Fuk.): Dinaric calcareous block fir forest#Plant list
- GenusGenusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sesleria, belongs to subfamily PooideaePooideaeThe Pooideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae. It includes some major cereals such as wheat, barley, oat, rye and many lawn and pasture grasses.- List :...
, of the true grass familyFamily (biology)In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
PoaceaePoaceaeThe Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
.
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forests, the vegetation graduates to temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
forests, conifers and tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
in the northern and upper regions. The ridges also have a variety of Mediterranean alpine vegetation - oromediterranean pastures.
The typical karst country with bare limestone rochocks interspersed with parches of wood is found on lower altitudes. White Oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, Hop-hornbeam and Montpellier Maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
, or the characteristic scrub of the maquis shrubland
Maquis shrubland
thumb|220px|Low Maquis in Corsica.220px|thumb|High macchia in Sardinia.Maquis or macchia is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs such as holm oak, tree heath, strawberry tree, sage, juniper, buckthorn, spurge olive and myrtle...
and garrigue
Garrigue
Garrigue or phrygana is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils around the Mediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast, where the climate is ameliorated, but where annual summer...
are notable. There are stony meadows in the sunken dolina
Dolina
Dolina may refer to:Places*Dolyna, a city in Ukraine*Dolina, Tržič, a village in Tržič municipality in Slovenia*Dolina, Szczecin, Poland*Dolina, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Dolina, Łódź Voivodeship...
of the karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
that contrast vividly with the stony slopes and rocky scrubland all round.
Higher altitudes are characterised by heavy beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
forest with occasional open grassy pastures. On northern branches Silver Fir
Silver Fir
Abies alba, commonly known as the European silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Carpathians, and south to southern Italy and northern Serbia.-Description:...
accompanies Beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
. Above the Beech and Fir-Beech forests are scattered open stands of pure Dinaric calcareous Silver Fir forest
Dinaric calcareous Silver Fir forest
The Dinaric calcareous Silver Fir forests are an endemic vegetation type of the littoral Dinaric Alps, located in Romania in southeastern Europe. Pure stands of Dinaric calcareous Silver fir —Abies alba forests appear on limestone escarpments in the montane zones of Orjen, Velebit, Biokovo and Prenj...
s and Bosnian Pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
with deep-purple young cone
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
s set among stiff light-green needles. Open stony scree
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
s and rocks are exposed to the jagged ridges and summits. They are very rich in species.
Flora
Flora is of Balkan type with many Illyrian and Balkan endemics. Notable is local endemism with 10 endemics restricted to Mount Orjen.Conservation
A National ParkNational park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
was planned for a long time on Orjen. The disintegration of Yugoslavia, civil war and standstill of tourism cancelled plans. Today plans a rejuvenated but funding maybe a problem. UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
declared the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor a World Heritage site. The part of Orjen within the boundaries of this Site is namely the Krivosije plateaux. A further evaluation of the patrimony and nomination of a greater part of Orjen as National park has good reasons. Unique flora, fauna and relief certainly require a protection plan by administrative action.
History
The earliest historic confirmations are the Lipce rock paintings which are dated in the Bronze Age. The first historic significant events are connected with the IllyriansIllyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
when Queen Teuta, reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228 BC choose Risan as her capital during her war against the Romans. The Greek also colonised the region and eventually the Romans took over. The classical name of the Bay of Kotor is after Rhizon (Risan) Sinus Rhizonicus. Eventually Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
was becoming more important during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
People
One of the songs sung depicts the Silver firs of the Bijela gora
Bijela gora
thumb|300px|Cirque Borovi do in the north at Bijela goraBijela gora is a karstic high plateau between 1200–1500 m on the northern side of Orjen in Montenegro. At 1862 m, Velika Jastrebica is the highest summit...
:
| Bijelogorske vite jele |
|---|
| 1. Beautiful Firs of Bijela gora why are you so dark like there's been no summer |
| (Translated by Pavle Cikovac) |
Livestock is mostly sheep but also horses and few cattle are held. At Orjen saddle oxes graze. In former times nomadic migration took place between the polje
Polje
A polje is a large flat plain in karst territory, with areas usually 5 to 400 km². The name derives from the Slavic languages and is a cognate with the English word field.-In geology:...
s and the higher regions of Orjen.
The traditional housing on Orjen is the so called Koliba
Koliba
Koliba is the name of a locality in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is situated on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. It administratively belongs to the Nové Mesto borough and is part of the Bratislava Forest Park....
. Small limestone huts with roofs build of pine bark. Only few hamlets are inhabited, mostly close to the coast. The higher up the stronger the push factors acted to leave.
Tribes on Orjen were once renowned for their wildness and still people from the coast have this notion towards the mountain tribes.
Activities
Glacial and karst features compose a unique landscape that is attracting visitors also from abroad. Backpacking and alpine recreation are important factors for the development of the Orjen region. Three mountain huts are established and enthusiasts keep winter sports alive.Hiking
Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants...
. Most trails are around the huts at Vratlo (1160 m) and Orjen ridge (1594 m). 40 km of marked trails exist in the Mount Orjen region, leading to the most attractive destinations. Marked trails start at the city bus station at Herceg Novi (30 m) and lead to the Vratlo hut (1160 m). Hiking in other more remote parts is also possible but no marcation currently exists. Visitors of Bijela gora or Dobri can use several local forest roads. sometimes shepherds can offer night accommodation.
Water is only available at some places, shepherd villagers usually use rain collectors.
Most hikers tend to visit Subra (1680 m) or Zubacki kabo (1894 m). Both are well marked.
Brown bears appear in the Bijela gora and should not be disturbed as the population is critically endangered.
Every year around mid May a half marathon called Orjen marathon is organised by the PSD Subra alpine organization. Guests are welcomed to take part in the traditional manifestation
Climbing
Several interesting alpine like climbing possibilities like rock climbing exist. Most remarkable is the 500 m wall of the Subra amphitheatre. In last few years the alpine – speleo section (A.S.O.S.) of PSD Subra started to climb routes on Mount Orjen. Good climbing routes are only 10 minutes walk from the Vratlo mountain hut. Other good climbing routes are in Subra’s Amphitheatre and Reovacka Greda rocks. Mount Orjen gives a lot opportunities for climbing unclimbed routes with various difficulties. A training rock near to the Herceg Novi – Trebinje road called "Silobod" (250 m) is in use.| Peak | Height (m) | Character | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zubački kabao Zubacki kabao thumb|Zubacki kabao with a small snowpatch in JuneZubački kabao is a mountain in Montenegro. At 1,894 m, it is the highest summit of the Orjen range in the Dinaric Alps... |
1,894 | rock scramble, wall, scree | difficult north approach, alpine character, scree on east |
| Velika Jastrebica Velika Jastrebica Velika Jastrebica is the highest summit of the Bijela Gora plateaux in the north of the Orjen range, and the second highest peak after Zubački kabao.... |
1,865 | trail | easy trail |
| Buganja greda | 1,849 | rock scramble, scree | basic rock scramble, difficult slippery scree on north side |
| Visoki breg | 1,833 | rock scramble, scree, trail | basic rock scramble, scree on north |
| Vučji zub Vucji zub Vučji zub is at 1805 m one of the higher peaks in the Orjen masif.The boundary between the Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the principality of Montenegro ran across Vučji zub until 1879... |
1,805 | rock scramble scree, wall | scree on east, difficult rock crevices on north |
| Borovik | 1,777 | rock scramble, scree | difficult scree on north, |
| Međugorje | 1,769 | rock scramble, wall | difficult major wall from north, south and west |
| Golisevac | 1,721 | rock scramble, scree | difficult scrre from north |
| Markov kuk | 1,721 | rockscramble, trail, scree | basi scramble |
| Pazua | 1,680 | rock scramble, wall | difficult rock scramble |
| Subra | 1,679 | rock scramble, big wall | 500 m wall still unclimbed |
Summer activities
- BackpackingBackpacking (wilderness)Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
- Between late spring and early fall. All overnight trips into the back country require sufficient water supplies.
- Bicycling - Mountain bikingMountain bikingMountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
is possible throughout Mount Orjen and local roads are well suited for bicycling.
- Swimming - Places are found on the 90 km coastline of the Bay of Kotor. Herceg Novi and Risan offer several good hotels.
- Orjen marathon - An annual event with several possible tracks most starting at the Vratlo hut towards Subra 1679 m and Zubacki kabao 1894 m
Winter activities
Much of Mount Orjen is inaccessible due to heavy snow in winter. However, Orjen saddle 1594 m can be reached in winter from Vrbanj.- SkiingSkiingSkiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
- the only skiing area is around Orjen saddle opens in winter. No lifts and equipment are provided at the mountain hut.
- HuntingHuntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
- Hunters are generally welcome official permits are required.
Further reading
- Goran Ž. Komar: "Planinska sela Dračevice pod vlašću Venecije
1687-1797" (1997)
External links
- http://www.rastko.org.rs/rastko-bo/istorija/gkomar-dracevica/gkomar-dracevica1_l.html Goran Z. Komar: Planinska sela Dracevice pod vlascu Venecije 1687-1797
- http://www.subra.users.t-com.me/ PSD Subra mountaineering association