- Durmitor
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View of the Durmitor near Minin.
Durmitor (pronounced [dǔrmitɔr]) is a massif and the name of a national park in North Western Montenegro. It reaches a height of 2,522 m (Bobotov Kuk).
The massif is bordered by Tara River Canyon on the North, Piva River Canyon on the West, and by Komarnica River Canyon on the South. To the East, Durmitor is open to a vast 1,500 m (4,921 ft) high plateau, called Jezerska Površ (Plateau of Lakes). Sinjavina mountain is located to the east of Jezerska Površ plateau.
Durmitor mountain range is for the most part located in Žabljak municipality.
Contents
Peaks
The massive has 48 peaks above 2,000 m (6,562 ft). The highest peaks of Durmitor are:
- Bobotov Kuk 2,522 m (8,274 ft)
- Bezimeni Vrh (Nameless Peak) 2,487 m (8,159 ft)
- Šljeme 2,455 m (8,054 ft)
- Istočni Vrh Šljemena (East Peak of Sljeme) 2,445 m (8,022 ft)
- Soa / Djevojka 2,440 m (8,005 ft)
- Milošev Tok 2,426 m (7,959 ft)
- Bandijerna 2,409 m (7,904 ft)
- Rbatina 2,401 m (7,877 ft)
- Lučin Vrh 2,396 m (7,861 ft)
- Prutaš 2,393 m (7,851 ft)
- Minin Bogaz 2,387 m (7,831 ft)
- Planinica 2,330 m (7,644 ft)
- Kobilja Glava 2,321 m (7,615 ft)
- Savin Kuk 2,313 m (7,589 ft)
- Šupljika 2,310 m (7,579 ft)
Lakes
Durmitor features 18 glacial lakes, scattered over mountain massif and Jezerska Površ plateau. The lakes add significantly to the beauty of the mountain, and have been nicknamed Gorske Oči, or Eyes of the Mountain.
- Crno Lake
- Veliko Škrčko Lake
- Malo Škrčko Lake
- Zeleni Vir
- Jablan Lake
- Valovito Lake
- Vir u Lokvicama
- Srablje Lake
- Modro Lake
- Suva Lokva
- Zminje Lake
- Barno Lake
- Pošćensko Lake
- Zabojsko Lake
- Vražje Lake
- Riblje Lake
- Zminčko Lake
- Sušičko Lake
Name
Name Durmitor is probably derived from Balkan Romance (some Romanian/Vlach dialect), and it means "sleeping" (cognate with English dormitory). There are similarly named mountains such as Visitor (visător, "dreaming") and Cipitor (aţipitor, "sleeping") across former Yugoslavia.[1]
National park
Main article: Durmitor World Heritage SiteThe Durmitor National Park, created in 1952, includes the massif of Durmitor, the canyons of Tara, Sušica and Draga rivers and the higher part of the canyon plateau Komarnica, covering the area of 390 km².
It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980.
Eighty km long and 1,300 m deep Tara River Canyon, a part of the National Park Durmitor, is second largest in the world, behind Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Tourism
Durmitor mountain is the centre of Montenegrin mountain tourism. The tourist facilities are concentrated around the town of Žabljak.
During the winter, main activities on Durmitor are skiing and, increasingly, snowboarding. In the summer, the activities shift to hiking, mountaineering and recreational tourism. One of the most prominent attraction of Durmitor mountain are 18 glacial lakes, best known being Crno Lake.
Maps
- Map server www.topomaps.eu with topographic maps
- Map Geokarta Beograd 1986 with OziExplorer calibration Durmitor.map. More information on travel.valek.net website
- A free Garmin-compatible GPS map of Durmitor and Pivska mountains (installer) at BGMountains.org website. Map legend is also available
- Topographic map 1:25000 (Durmitor sjever)
- Topographic map 1:25000 (Durmitor jug)
References
- ^ Room Adrian (2004) "Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features" ISBN 0-7864-1814-1 pg. 112
External links
- Durmitor National Park
- UNESCO World Heritage Site profile
- UNEP-WCMC World Heritage Site datasheet
Categories:- National parks of Montenegro
- Mountains of Montenegro
- World Heritage Sites in Montenegro
- Protected areas established in 1952
- Romanian toponyms
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