__NOTOC__ Dzūkija National Park - a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Dzūkija Dzūkija or Dainava is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Dzūkija is a cultural region defined by traditional lifestyles and dialects of the local Lithuanian population (mostly rural farmers) and has never been defined as a politi ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, was established in 1991 in order to preserve the

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

forests, the landscape, and the villages of the region. The area encompasses 584.53 square kilometers on the banks of the

Nemunas River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

. The park is the largest

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in Lithuania. It belongs to both the Association of Baltic National Parks and the Federation of European National Parks.

Features

The park enjoys a more

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

than other parts of the country. Its most distinctive landscapes are the mainland

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

massifs located in Marcinkonys, Lynežeris, Grybaulia, and Šunupis.

Settlements

The administrative center of the park is in Marcinkonys and the other important town is

Merkinė Merkinė is a town in the Dzūkija National Park in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Merkys, Stangė, and Neman (river), Nemunas rivers. Merkinė is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania. The first settlers inhabited the confluence ...

. The ethnographic village of Zervynos can be found within the park.

References

External links

Dzukija National Park

Accommodation in Dzukija National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzukija National Park National parks of Lithuania Protected areas established in 1991 1991 establishments in Lithuania Tourist attractions in Alytus County

Features

Settlements

See also

References

External links