Slītere National Park
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Slītere National Park ( lv, Slīteres nacionālais parks) is a national park in
Talsi Municipality Talsi Municipality ( lv, Talsu novads) is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Abava parish, Balgale parish, Ģibuļi parish, Īve parish, Ķūļciems parish, Laidze parish, Lauciene parish, L ...
, Courland, on the west coast of Latvia. Although formally established in 2000, it is based on former Slītere Nature Reserve, one of the oldest nature reserves in Baltic States. It is the smallest national park in Latvia.


Geography

The park is set in the
Courland Peninsula The Courland Peninsula (, German: ''Kurland'') is a historical and cultural region in western Latvia in the north-western part of Courland. Fourteen coastal villages on the peninsula make of the Livonian core area. It is bordered by the Baltic S ...
, at the point of
cape Kolka , lv, Kolkasrags , type =Cape , photo = Kolkas rags.jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Cape Kolka , map = Latvia , map_width = , map_caption = , m ...
that marks the end of the
Irbe Strait Irbe Strait, also known as Irben Strait ( et, Kura kurk, lv, Irbes jūras šaurums, liv, Sūr mer), forms the main exit out of the Gulf of Riga to the Baltic Sea, between the Sõrve Peninsula forming the southern end of the island Saaremaa in ...
, the southern way out of the
bay of Riga A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...
. It covers an area of (including in the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
), making it the smallest national park in Latvia. The "Zilie Kalni" or "Blue Hills" are one of the most recognizable geological features of the park. Thousands of years ago, the Zilie Kalni formed the ancient shore of the
Baltic ice lake The Baltic Ice Lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that evolved in the Baltic Sea basin as glaciers retreated from that region at the end of the last ice age. The lake existed between 12,600 and 10,300 years Before Present ...
. Further back in time, 40 M years ago, the climate was sub-tropical; fossilized amber from that period is still found by the sea-shore after heavy storms have stirred the sediments on the sea bed.The Baltic coast
video by ''Free High-Quality Documentaries'', on ''youtube.com''.
Cape Kolka , lv, Kolkasrags , type =Cape , photo = Kolkas rags.jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Cape Kolka , map = Latvia , map_width = , map_caption = , m ...
: 38'16 - 38'30. Slītere national park: 38'31 - 38'42. Ilbe river moor waters reaching the coast: 38'43 - 38'48. Sandbanks: 38'48 - 39'06. Trouts reproducing up river Irbe: 39'06 - 39'33.
Bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...
: 39'43 - 40'35. Sub-tropical climate: 42'32 - 42'42. Fossilised amber: 41'12 - 42'29 (notably 42'14 - 42-25). Great grey owl: 43'04 - 43'15. Sea frozen over in winter from
cape Kolka , lv, Kolkasrags , type =Cape , photo = Kolkas rags.jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Cape Kolka , map = Latvia , map_width = , map_caption = , m ...
to the Estonian islands in the north of the
bay of Riga A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...
: 44'05 - 44'22. Grey seals: 44'22 - 44'51.
The small Irbe river runs south-west/north-east, following the coastal line of the
Irbe Strait Irbe Strait, also known as Irben Strait ( et, Kura kurk, lv, Irbes jūras šaurums, liv, Sūr mer), forms the main exit out of the Gulf of Riga to the Baltic Sea, between the Sõrve Peninsula forming the southern end of the island Saaremaa in ...
towards the
Baltic sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
, and reaches the sea within the Slītere national park.Irbe river, location map
on ''google.com/maps''. Its brown moor waters constantly move the sandbanks in its estuary. In late Autumn, brown trouts swim upriver to reach their spawning grounds. File:Baltic sea Riga gulf western coast near Kolka.jpg, Riga Bay's western coast near
cape Kolka , lv, Kolkasrags , type =Cape , photo = Kolkas rags.jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Cape Kolka , map = Latvia , map_width = , map_caption = , m ...
File:Lielais Peterezers.jpg, Lielais Peterezers, lake in Kolka parish, near the Sīkrags hamlet on the western coast of the
Courland Peninsula The Courland Peninsula (, German: ''Kurland'') is a historical and cultural region in western Latvia in the north-western part of Courland. Fourteen coastal villages on the peninsula make of the Livonian core area. It is bordered by the Baltic S ...
.


Flora

Slītere National Park is famous for the broadleaf forests covering former coastline and for the unique complex of dunes (called ''kangari'' in Latvian) and depressions (''vigas'') featuring inter-dune bogs. Most of the broadleaf forest is located on the "Zilie Kalni" or "Blue Hills".
Another 30% of the park is covered by coniferous forest. The park hosts hundreds of species of plants and bryophytes, 29 species of which are found nowhere else in Latvia.


Fauna

Slītere National Park lies along the Baltic migratory flyways, making Slītere one of the best places in Latvia for
birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
.Slītere National Park : fauna
/ref> For example, its sea shore is a stopover in late Autumn for the
bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...
on its way south from the northern tundra; the
great grey owl The great grey owl (''Strix nebulosa'') (also great gray owl in American English) is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in th ...
migrates here from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
in winter. Virtually all species of bird found in Latvia have been observed in Slītere, with many as 60,000 birds per hour having been observed flying over during the spring and fall migrations. The
grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...
,
Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...
, and elk can all be found within Slītere. The national park has many rare species of insect and snail due to its high plant and biome diversity. Along the coast, Baltic
grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...
s establish their nurseries under the iced-over sea in winter; this is their most southerly location in the world. The rarer
ringed seal The ringed seal (''Pusa hispida'') is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater than 1.5 m in length, with a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light ...
is occasionally seen.


Human settlements

Slītere protects a large portion of the Līvõd Rãnda - the
Livonian Coast Livonian Coast ( liv, Līvõd Rānda, italic=no; lv, Lībiešu krasts, italic=no) is a territory of Latvia historically inhabited by Livonian people. It is located in Northern Courland and encompasses twelve Livonian villages. The protected are ...
, featuring Livonian villages. See
Cape Kolka , lv, Kolkasrags , type =Cape , photo = Kolkas rags.jpg , photo_width = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Cape Kolka , map = Latvia , map_width = , map_caption = , m ...
and villages
Vaide Vaide ( Livonian: ''Vaid'') is a village in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. It is one of the remaining twelve Livonian villages on the Livonian Coast. Poulin Klavin (), one of only a handful of native speakers ...
,
Saunags Saunags ( Livonian: ''Sǟnag'') is a populated place in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, Latvia, located from the Cape Kolka, within the borders of Slītere National Park. The name derived from Livonian ''Sǟnag'' – pike perch (Sander), a l ...
,
Pitrags Pitrags ( liv, Pitrõg) is a village situated in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, in the Courland region of Latvia, at the mouth of the river Pitraga. It is one of twelve Livonian villages. Other names: Pitraguciems, Pitrag, Pitraga Ciems, Pet ...
. File:Slīteres bāka (2).jpg, Slīteres lighthouse File:Slīteres nacionālais parks.jpg, Houses with the Slīteres lighthouse in the background File:Košrags.jpg,
Košrags Košrags ( Livonian: ''Kuoštrõg'') is a populated place in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, Latvia on the shore of the Irbe Strait of the Baltic Sea. One of twelve Livonian villages on the ''Līvõd rānda'' - the Livonian Coast in Courland ( ...
village, northwestern coast (
Irbe strait Irbe Strait, also known as Irben Strait ( et, Kura kurk, lv, Irbes jūras šaurums, liv, Sūr mer), forms the main exit out of the Gulf of Riga to the Baltic Sea, between the Sõrve Peninsula forming the southern end of the island Saaremaa in ...
)


See also

*
Livonian Coast Livonian Coast ( liv, Līvõd Rānda, italic=no; lv, Lībiešu krasts, italic=no) is a territory of Latvia historically inhabited by Livonian people. It is located in Northern Courland and encompasses twelve Livonian villages. The protected are ...
*
List of national parks in the Baltics This is a list of the national parks in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Estonia There are 6 national parks in Estonia. Latvia There are 4 national parks in Latvia. Lithuania There are 5 national parks in Lithuania.< ...


References


External links


Northern Kurzeme

Official Latvian Tourism Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slitere National Park National parks of Latvia Protected areas established in 2000 2000 establishments in Latvia Talsi Municipality Courland