Zelenci
Encyclopedia
Kranjska Gora
Kranjska Gora is a town and a municipality on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwest Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.Kranjska Gora is best known as a winter sports town, being situated in the Julian Alps...
, in the far northwestern corner of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. It is the source of the river Sava Dolinka
Sava Dolinka
The Sava Dolinka is a headwater of the Sava River in northwestern Slovenia. The 45 km Sava Dolinka starts as Nadiža Creek in the Planica Valley under Mount Zadnja Ponca in the Julian Alps, at an elevation of 1222 m, close to the Italian border. The stream goes underground soon after its source and...
, a tributary of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
.
At Zelenci, water from the underground stream Nadiža
Nadiža (creek)
Nadiža is a mountain stream near the town of Kranjska Gora, in the far northwestern corner of Slovenia. Springing from a bare rockface on the eastern slope of the mountain Zadnja Ponca above the valley of Tamar in the Julian Alps, it is the first source of the river Sava Dolinka, the longer of the...
(originating in the Planica
Planica
Planica is an alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking destination in Triglav National Park.Planica is famous for...
valley) re-emerges through the porous bottom of a two-m deep lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, whose waters are noted for their deep, brilliant green. The spring and its surrounding area are named after this colour, zelen meaning "green" in Slovene
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
and "Zelenci" being its possessive plural.)
Geology
The Upper Sava ValleyUpper Sava Valley
The Upper Sava Valley is an alpine valley in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. The Sava Dolinka river flows along it. It begins in Rateče at an altitude of 870 m and ends at Moste at 560 m. It is the geographical border between the Julian Alps and the Karavanke Alps. It was created on a...
is the result of action by the Planica
Planica
Planica is an alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking destination in Triglav National Park.Planica is famous for...
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...
, creeping from beneath Jalovec
Jalovec (mountain)
Jalovec is a mountain in the Julian Alps. With an elevation of 2,645 m, it is the sixth-highest peak in Slovenia. It stands between the Tamar, Koritnica, and Trenta Alpine valleys. Nearby peaks include Mangart to the west, Travnik and Mojstrovka to the east, and Ponce to the north.- External links :...
, Ponce and Mojstrovka. The area contains many lake sediments, suggesting that Zelenci is a remnant of a once much larger Lake Koren, created by the retreat of the glacier, which carried along much debris. In retreat, the bulk of it was deposited at what is now Podkoren
Podkoren
Podkoren is a settlement in the Kranjska Gora municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. The village church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is of late Gothic origin as are many houses in the village, but was largely refurbished in the Baroque style.Podkoren lies immediately below the...
, damming the Sava with the Koren Pass
Wurzenpass
The Wurzen Pass or Korensko sedlo or simply Koren is a high mountain pass in a col of the Karawanken mountain range in the Southern Limestone Alps, at the border between Arnoldstein in the Austrian state of Carinthia and Kranjska Gora in Slovenia...
, which hemmed in glacial melt and formed an extensive lake. The Sava then tunneled through this natural dam, lowering the water level of lake Koren until only Zelenci and its surrounding wetlands were left.
Zelenci is considered the beginning of the longer of the two sources of the Sava, the longest Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n river at 221 km. The spring is actually the re-emergence of an underground creek called Nadiža
Nadiža (creek)
Nadiža is a mountain stream near the town of Kranjska Gora, in the far northwestern corner of Slovenia. Springing from a bare rockface on the eastern slope of the mountain Zadnja Ponca above the valley of Tamar in the Julian Alps, it is the first source of the river Sava Dolinka, the longer of the...
, whose first source is near the mountain hut at Tamar, but which spends most of its course underground after disappearing at the Ledine gravel basin near Rateče
Ratece
-External links:** *...
.
The porous chalk of the Zelenci lakebed permits a constant upwelling of groundwater in the form of tiny jets, a phenomenon unique in Slovenia.
The lake formed by the springs has a constant year-round temperature of 5–6 °C. From the lake, the water flows into a stream, which empties eastward into the "Blata" ("Muds"), a 200 m wide and one km long shallow marshland. The actual riverbed of the Sava Dolinka
Sava Dolinka
The Sava Dolinka is a headwater of the Sava River in northwestern Slovenia. The 45 km Sava Dolinka starts as Nadiža Creek in the Planica Valley under Mount Zadnja Ponca in the Julian Alps, at an elevation of 1222 m, close to the Italian border. The stream goes underground soon after its source and...
does not begin until after this, at Podkoren
Podkoren
Podkoren is a settlement in the Kranjska Gora municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. The village church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is of late Gothic origin as are many houses in the village, but was largely refurbished in the Baroque style.Podkoren lies immediately below the...
beside the slopes of Mount Vitranc.
History
Zelenci was declared a nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in 1992, both for its geological interest and as home to numerous endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
animal and plant species. The area of the nature reserve is 47 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
. The maintained paths feature informational signage, as well as viewing bridges and an observation tower.
The unspoiled natural beauty of the multiple springs and emerald-green lake had also drawn the attention of the painter Ladislau Benesch.
Sir Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
, the famous Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and a visitor to the area in the 19th century, wrote of it:
Flora
The surroundings of the spring are hospitable to plant life adapted to riparian habitatsRiparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
: carex
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
, alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s, and an assortment of flowering plants:
- Marsh Lousewort (Pedicularis palustris)
- Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)
- Common cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium)
- Marsh arrowgrass (Triglochin palustrisTriglochin palustrisTriglochin palustris or Marsh Arrowgrass is a variety of arrowgrass found in damp grassland usually on calcareous soils, fens and meadows. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found locally in the British Isles especially the...
) - Water crowfoot (Batrachium spRanunculusRanunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, water crowfoots and the lesser celandine....
)
Fauna
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
, which inhabit the lakes and feed on mayfly
Mayfly
Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera . They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies...
(Ephemeroptera) and stonefly (Plecoptera) larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e, the area boasts several endangered species on the Red List of Endangered Animal Species of Slovenia:
- Common rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus)
- Whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus)
- Viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivipara)
- European adder (Vipera berusVipera berusVipera berus, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Common adder and Common viper, adders have been...
) - Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)
Sources
- Decree on Declaration of Zelenci as Nature Reserve, Official List Nos. 53/92, 17/94, Official List of Upper Carniola, No. 32/96 (Odlok o razglasitvi Zelencev za naravni rezervat, Uradni list št. 53/92, 17/94, Uradni vestnik Gorenjske, št. 32/96)
- Sinfo (Jan 2006) ISSN 1854 0805 http://www.ukom.gov.si/fileadmin/ukom.gov.si/pageuploads/Sinfo/2006-januar.pdf