Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area (abbreviated as Křivoklátsko PLA; ) is a
protected landscape area in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
.
Geography
Křivoklátsko PLA lies in the western part of the
Central Bohemian Region
The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...
, only a small part extends into the northeastern
Plzeň Region
Plzeň Region or Plzeňský Region (also known as Pilsen Region; ) is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the western part of the historical land of Bohemia and named after the capital, Plz ...
. The distance between the eastern edge of the PLA and the western edge of
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
is about . From a
geomorphological point of view, most of the PLA is situated in the
Křivoklát Highlands. The western part lies in the
Plasy Uplands. To a small extent, the PLA extends into the
Rakovník Uplands in the north and the
Hořovice Uplands in the south.
Křivoklátsko PLA covers an area of . The highest point is the Těchovín hill at above sea level. The lowest point is at .
The axis of the PLA is the
Berounka River. The canyon-like river valley with preserved meanders and valley floodplain is one of the main characteristics of the area.
[ Within the PLA, the Berounka has 17 left-sided and 15 right-sided tributaries, among which they are mainly small streams. The largest body of water is Klíčava Reservoir with an area of .
]
Geology
The oldest geological unit, which forms the geological base of about three-quarters of the PLA, is the Barrandien Upper Proterozoic. It is made up of Palaeozoic sediments (shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
s and siltstones) that sedimented in a vast deep sea basin.
Vegetation
Almost two-thirds of the area is covered by deciduous and mixed forests. A typical feature of the area is the so-called ''pleš'', which is a forestless area on some peaks with drought-loving lawns and shrub borders.[
]
Protection
Even before the formal demarcation of the borders, the nature area was called Křivoklátsko after the after the Křivoklát castle in the northern part of Křivoklátsko. In the Middle Ages, the Křivoklátsko forests were a royal hunting ground thanks to its proximity to Prague. The forests were therefore not logged much and remained relatively intact. In 1977, the area with a mosaic of species rich habitats, mainly large stretches of broadleaf Central European temperate forests, was included among the UNESCO biosphere reserves. Křivoklátsko PLA was declared in 1978 and the protection started on 23 January 1979.[
The PLA administration is located in the municipality of Zbečno.
]
Small-scale specially protected areas
Within the Křivoklátsko PLA, 27 small-scale protected areas were declared (4 national nature reserves, 16 nature reserves and 7 nature monuments):
References
External links
Map of Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area
on mapy.cz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krivoklatsko Protected Landscape Area
Protected landscape areas in the Czech Republic
Biosphere reserves of the Czech Republic
Geography of the Central Bohemian Region
1979 establishments in Czechoslovakia