Durmitor

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Durmitor National Park
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List

View of the Durmitor near Minin

Type Natural
Criteria vii, viii, x
Reference 100
UNESCO region Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 1980 (4th Session)
Extensions 2005

The Durmitor (pronounced [durmǐtɔr] or [dǔrmitɔr]) is a massif and the name of a national park in northwestern Montenegro. The highest peak, Bobotov Kuk, reaches a height of 2,522 meters.

The massif is limited by the Tara River Canyon on the north, the Piva River Canyon on the west, and by the Komarnica River Canyon on the south. To the east, the Durmitor opens to a 1,500 m (4,921 ft) high plateau, called Jezerska Površ (Plateau of Lakes). The Sinjavina mountain is located to the east of Jezerska Površ plateau.

The Durmitor mountain range is for the most part located in Žabljak municipality.

Peaks

The massif 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 jezero
  • 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 (a Romanian/Vlach dialect), and it means "sleeping place" (cognate with English dormitory). There are similarly named mountains such as Visitor (visător, "dreamer") and Cipitor (aţipitor, "sleeper") across former Yugoslavia.[1]

National park

The 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 list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1980.

80 kilometers long and 1,300 meters deep, the Tara River Canyon in the Durmitor National Park is the second largest in the world, after the Grand Canyon.

Dumitor

Tourism

Durmitor mountain is the centre of Montenegrin mountain tourism. The tourist facilities are concentrated around the town of Žabljak.

During winter, the 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

References

  1. 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

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