Záhorie Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Záhorie) is the first lowland protected landscape area in Slovakia. It is located in the non-administrative

Záhorie Záhorie ( hu, Erdőhát) is a region in western Slovakia between by the Little Carpathians to the east and the Morava (river), Morava River to the west. Although not an administrative region, it is one of the List of tourism regions of Slovakia, ...

Region in West Slovakia. The Landscape Area protects 275.22 km² (106.26 mi²) and is divided into two separate parts – western and north-eastern. The western part starts near the village of

Kúty Kúty, (german: Kutti; hu, Jókút) is a village and municipality in Senica District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. History The village was first mentioned in 1392 under the name Kuth. And in 1498 as Kwhty. Kút is equal to Corner ...

in the north, follows the borders between Slovakia and Austria alongside the Morava River and ends near Stupava in the south. The north-eastern part is bordered by the Military District of Záhorie in the east and south.

Geography, geology and ecology

The western part of the Landscape Area is formed by the Morava River and mainly consists of vast riparian zones and

floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

. This area is well preserved because it had been a strictly prohibited border between the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

and the Western Bloc for 40 years, known as the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

. The area contains the largest

water-meadow A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water-m ...

s in Slovakia. The riparian forests, mainly in Horný les and

Dolný les Dolný les is a national nature reserve in the Slovak municipality of Vysoká pri Morave in the Malacky District. The nature reserve covers an area of 186.26 ha of the Borská lowland area. It has a protection level of 4 under the slovak nature p ...

, contain trees similar to the original

old growth forests An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

. A vast network of channels, wetlands and small lakes is spread in the riparian zones and floodplains. These rich and dynamic geographical features bring an extensive variety of flora and fauna. Plants are represented by, for example, large areas of ''

Clematis integrifolia ''Clematis integrifolia'' is a flowering vine of the genus ''Clematis''. Like many members of that genus, it is prized by gardening, gardeners for its showy flowers. ''C. integrifolia'' bears nodding, urn-shaped blue flowers in summer that are 1 ...

''. The water habitat is dominantly occupied by animal groups such as crustaceans, molluscs, fish,

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

and a lot of species of aquatic birds. The European beaver returned to this area from Austria, where it was

reintroduced Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

in the 1980s. The north-eastern part contains sand deposited by aeolian processes, which create dunes. Because of its location, this area is an important route for

migrating birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

. The contrast between colder lower areas and warm sand dunes creates a bright variety of species. The warm and dry areas are home to the

antlion The antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae. They are known for the predatory habits of their larvae, which mostly dig pits to trap passing ants or other prey. In North America, the larvae ...

and hoopoe. The fir forests are home to insect predators, which serve as a feeding ground for the European nightjar, woodlark and bats.

Tourism

In the western part, the artificial

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

alongside the Morava River and adjacent newly built biking trail contains boards and

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

s informing about wildlife and is also popular with hikers. The north-eastern part contains biking and hiking trails, offering unique sand dunes. Biking trails are interconnected with others outside the Landscape Area.

References

Záhorie Protected Landscape Area at The Slovak Nature Conservancy

External links

Záhorie Protected Landscape Area
a
Slovakia.travel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahorie Protected Landscape Area Protected areas of Slovakia Protected areas established in 1988 Geography of Trnava Region Geography of Bratislava Tourist attractions in Trnava Region Tourist attractions in Bratislava

Geography, geology and ecology

Tourism

See also

References

External links