Eat Art Travel: Plitvice Lakes

Water, water, everywhere, a lush valley filled with terraced lakes formed by tufa or travertine dams that flow into one another via waterfalls, Plitvice Lakes National Park, lies on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at the base of the Dinaric Alps. The area is underlain by karstic rock, mainly dolomite (a translucent mineral consisting of a carbonate of calcium and magnesium) and limestone. The lakes are a result of the sedimentation of chalk (called tufa or travertine), which the waters leach from the limestone and dolomite, then deposit forming dams. The complex processes of dissolution and sedimentation of limestone require specific climatic preconditions, which have only existed since the end of the ice age about 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The key ingredient is calcium carbonate, the same thing that makes hard water hard and causes deposits to build up on the mouth of your faucet. The dissolution of limestone happens through alteration processes and the effects of carbonic acid. In a natural environment, carbonic acid is formed by the dissolution of carbon dioxide from the air or from water. Limestone or dolomite mainly consists of calcite, which poorly dissolves in water. Calcite, however, is dissolved by the effect of carbonic acid, thus creating calcium hydrogen carbonate. As water flows through the rock it leaches calcite from the rock. When the water is still it holds the mineral creating the deep blue of the pools, but when it speeds up it releases carbon dioxide causing the calcium carbonate to precipitate and form the travertine.

The confluence of the Bijela Rijeka (English White River) and Crna Rijeka (English Black River) provide the source of much of the water, but a part of Prošćansko jezero, another little river fed by permanent springs, flows into the lakes. They finally exit the lakes as the river Korana.

The lakes do not represent separated, stationary waters; they have always been viewed as a system of lakes. Constantly changing it is difficult if not even possible analyze individual single lakes. The water is continuously changing the outlook of the lakes and the surrounding landscape. On the one hand, tufa is being washed away, while on the other hand, new sediments are continuously being formed. Thus, new waterfalls are being formed while others run dry. Nature continuously adapts to the new conditions. As a whole, the complex of lakes represents a very sensitive ecosystem.

Dinner anyone?

Due to the features of limestone, many rivers drain away into the rock. Therefore, extensive underground river systems exist. Upon reaching hard rock, rivers emerge on the surface.

There are boats to ferry you across some of the lakes

After the end of the Second World War, on April 8, 1949, the Plitvice Lakes were declared as a national park and rigorous nature protection measures were established. During the 1980s, tourism was booming in Yugoslavia with Plitvice Lakes National Park as one of Yugoslavia's most popular tourist attractions. March 1991 marked another turning point for the park; it became the scene of the Plitvice Lakes incident (also called "Plitvice Bloody Easter"), the first armed confrontation of the Croatian War of Independence resulting in fatalities. Local Serbs backed by Slobodan Milošević and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) held the park. During the period under the control of Serb forces loyal to Belgrade, Croats were ethnically cleansed from the region. During the war many buildings in the park were destroyed. After the war, it was among the first areas to be cleared of mines and renovated.