Tatra(s) National Park ( sk, Tatranský národný park; abbr. TANAP) is one of the nine national parks in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. It is situated in North Central Slovakia in the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

. The park is important for protecting a diverse variety of flora and fauna, with many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species, including the

Tatra chamois The Tatra chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica''; sk, Kamzík vrchovský tatranský; pl, Kozica tatrzańska) is a subspecies of the chamois of the genus '' Rupicapra''. Tatra chamois live in the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia and Poland. Popula ...

. The Tatra Mountains form a natural border between Slovakia to the north and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to the south, and the two countries have cooperated since the early 20th century on efforts to protect the area. Poland created an adjoining national park, and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

later designated the combined effort a transboundary

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

Geography

The Tatra National Park protects the Slovak areas of the

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in the Eastern Tatras (''Východné Tatry'') ranges, and areas of the

Western Tatras Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

(''Západné Tatry'') ranges. The west part of the Tatra National Park is situated in the

Žilina Region The Žilina Region ( sk, Žilinský kraj; pl, Kraj żyliński; hu, Zsolnai kerület) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts ( okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region ...

and the east part in the

Prešov Region The Prešov Region, also Priashiv Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj, ; hu, Eperjesi kerület; uk, Пряшівський край) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 13 districts (okresy) and 666 municipalities, 23 o ...

. The national park covers an area of 738 km² (284.9 mi²), and the buffer zone around the park covers an area of 307 km² (118.5 mi²); 1045 km² together. The park offers 600 km of hiking trails and 16 marked and maintained bike trails.

Mountains

The Western Tatras are divided into ''Osobitá'', ''Roháče'', ''Sivý vrch'' (literally Grey Mountain), ''Liptovské Tatry'' (Liptov Tatras), ''Liptovské Kopy'', ''Červené vrchy'' (Red Mountains). The Eastern Tatras consist of

(''Vysoké Tatry'') and

Belianske Tatras , photo = Belianske Tatry from Jahňaci štít-captions sk.svg , photo_size = 250px , photo_caption = Muráň, Nový, Havran, Ždiarska Vidla peaks – beginning from the left , count ...

(''Belianske Tatry''). The highest peak in Slovakia at in elevation,

Gerlachovský štít Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as ''Gerlachov Peak'', German: ''Gerlsdorfer Spitze'', Hungarian: ''Gerlachfalvi-csúcs''), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the Carpat ...

, is located within the park. It is also the highest point in the

and the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

. Bystrá is the highest mountain in the Western Tatras at , and Havran mountain (English: Raven) is the highest point in the Belianske Tatras at .

Lakes and streams

There are more than a hundred

tarns A tarn (or corrie loch) is a proglacial mountain lake, pond or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. Etymology The word is derived from the Old Norse word ''tjörn'' ("a small mount ...

, or mountain lakes, in the park. ''Veľké Hincovo pleso'' is the biggest with an area of 0.2 km², and the deepest at . The area around the settlement of

Štrbské Pleso Štrbské pleso (, german: Tschirmer See, pl, Szczyrbskie jezioro, hu, Csorbató or ) is a picturesque mountain lake of glacial origin and a top tourist destination in the High Tatras, Slovakia. It is the second-largest glacial lake on the Sl ...

is a

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

for two

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

s. To the east of this divide,

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

are the

headwater The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

s of the

Poprad River The Poprad ( hu, Poprád, links=no, german: Popper, links=no) is a river in northern Slovakia and southern Poland, and a tributary of the Dunajec River near Stary Sącz, Poland. It has a length of 170 kilometres (63 km of which are wit ...

, of 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 from ...

drainage basin. To the west of the divide streams are

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

of the

Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

, of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

drainage basin. The most popular waterfalls include ''Studenovodské vodopády'', ''Kmeťov vodopád'', ''Vajanského vodopád'', ''Roháčsky vodopád'', and ''Vodopád Skok''.

Caves

About 300 caves are located within the national park, however

Belianska Cave Belianska Cave ( sk, Belianska jaskyňa, ) is a stalactite cave in the Slovak part of the Tatra mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of moun ...

(''Belianska jaskyňa'') is the only one open to public. It is located near the village of

Lendak Lendak (Gorals#Langauge, Goral: Ľyndak)is a village and municipality in Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region of north Slovakia. It is inhabited by Gorals Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 749 metres and covers an area of 19.6 ...

. The longest cave system discovered to date is the Cave of Javorinka.

Park history

Tatra National Park was established on 1 January 1949 and it is the oldest national park in Slovakia. In 1987, a section of the

was added to the national park. In 1992 the national park became a part of the

Man and the Biosphere Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

, jointly with the adjoining Tatra National Park of Poland. The areas of the park and its buffer zone were adjusted in 2003. Since 2004, the national park belongs to the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

ecological network.

Ecology and biota

The geological composition, soil properties and climate conditions all contribute to the original flora and fauna in the park.

Flora

Almost two thirds of the park are covered with forests, mainly with

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

and

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...

(''Picea abies''). The most widespread tree is the

, followed by the

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

Swiss pine ''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Arolla pine or Austrian stone pine or just stone pine, is a species of a pine tree in the subgenus ''Strobus''. Description The Swiss pine is a member of the white pine group ...

(''Pinus cembra''),

European larch ''Larix decidua'', the European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains as well as the Pyrenees, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania. It ...

(''Larix decidua''), and

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and S ...

. Leafy trees, especially

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

s, mainly grow in the Belianske Tatras. About 1,300 species of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

grow in the park, of which 37 are endemic to the

Tatras The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the high ...

, 41 are endemic to the Western Carpathians and 57 are endemic to the Carpathians. Notable plants endemic to the

include Tatra scurvy-grass (''Cochlearia tatrae''),

yellow mountain saxifrage ''Saxifraga aizoides'', yellow mountain saxifrage or yellow saxifrage, is a flowering alpine plant of the genus ''Saxifraga''. Description ''Saxifraga aizoides'' is an evergreen perennial plant, perennial which branches at or below ground leve ...

(''Saxifraga aizoides''), ''Erysimum wahlenbergii'' of the

wallflower ''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus ''Cheiranthus'' is sometimes included here in whole o ...

genus, ''

Cochlearia tatrae ''Cochlearia tatrae'', the Tatra scurvy-grass, is a flowering plant of the genus ''Cochlearia'' in the family Brassicaceae. The plant is endemic to and named after the Tatra Mountains, which in northern Slovakia and southern Poland. The plant bl ...

'', ''Erigeron hungaricus'' of the genus ''

Erigeron ''Erigeron'' () is a large genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is closely related to the genus '' Aster'' and the true daisies in the genus '' Bellis''. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution in dry, mountainous areas and grassland, ...

'', and others.

Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

relicts A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

include ''Ranunculus alpestris'' of the genus ''

Ranunculus ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe ...

'', glacier crowfoot, ''Dianthus glacialis'' of the genus ''

Dianthus ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North A ...

'', ''Gentiana frigida'' of the

gentian ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

genus, ''Primula minim'' of the genus ''

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the primrose ('' P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common species are '' P. auricula'' (auricula), '' P. veris'' (cow ...

'',

dwarf willow ''Salix herbacea'', the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae) adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments ar ...

, net-leaved willow (''Salix reticulata''), and others.

Fauna

Animals are represented by 115 species of birds, 42 mammals, 8 reptiles, and 3 amphibians. There are also many

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

. Notable ice age relicts are ''

Branchinecta paludosa ''Branchinecta paludosa'' is a species of fairy shrimp with a Holarctic distribution. Distribution ''B. paludosa'' is widely distributed in the Arctic tundra of Eurasia, chiefly above latitudes of 60° north. It reaches its northern limit, 77� ...

fairy shrimp Anostraca is one of the four orders of crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda; its members are referred to as fairy shrimp. They live in vernal pools and hypersaline lakes across the world, and they have even been found in deserts, ice-covered mou ...

, the three-toed woodpecker,

ring ouzel The ring ouzel (''Turdus torquatus'') is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, in length and weighing . The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females ...

spotted nutcracker The spotted nutcracker, Eurasian nutcracker, or simply nutcracker (''Nucifraga caryocatactes'') is a passerine bird slightly larger than the Eurasian jay. It has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over ...

, and others. Mammals in the park include the endemic Tatra chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica''), a unique goat—antelope that is an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

critically endangered species. Other

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s include the

Eurasian brown bear The Eurasian brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'') is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, and colloquially by many othe ...

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 ...

, marten,

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 u ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, and the Alpine marmot.