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Like other National Parks in Croatia, Plitvice Lakes rests upon karst, which explains its unusual topography. Karst is highly porous limestone and dolomitic rock through which water seeps to create underground streams. What seems to be stone is actually travertine, a sort of petrified plant. The flowing water absorbs minerals from the dolomite underlying the lakes and coats the plant life, turning it to porous travertine stone. The new travertine sprouts moss and plants that again petrify and the process repeats itself. All the barriers separating the lakes are composed of travertine constantly growing and changing shape. Flora & FaunaThe northeastern part of the park is covered by beech forests while the rest is covered with beech, fir, spruce and white pine interspersed with whitebeam, hornbeam and flowering ash. Plitvice Lakes National Park is home to 120 species of birds. You can expect to fink hawks, owls, cuckoos, thrushes, starlings, kingfishers, wild ducks and herons. Depending on the season, you might glimpse black storks and ospreys and flocks of butterflies. Animal life includes bears and wolves (rarely seen) as well as deer, boar, rabbits, foxes and badgers. Related PagesPlitvice Lakes National Park Guide Accommodation in Plitvice Lakes Map and Driving Directions to Plitvice World Heritage Sites in Croatia
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