Topography of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

is defined through three major

geomorphological Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

parts of the country. Those are the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...

, the Dinaric Alps, and the

Adriatic Basin The Adriatic Abyssal Plain, more commonly referred to as the Adriatic Basin, is an oceanic basin under the Adriatic Sea. The Adriatic Sea's average depth is , and its maximum depth is ; however, the North Adriatic basin rarely exceeds a depth of ...

. The largest part of Croatia consists of lowlands, with elevations of less than above sea level recorded in 53.42% of the country. Bulk of the lowlands are found in the northern regions of the country, especially in

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

, itself a part of the Pannonian Basin plain. The plains are interspersed by the horst and

graben In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic contex ...

structures, believed to break the Pannonian Sea surface as islands. The greatest concentration of ground at relatively high elevations is found in

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

and Gorski Kotar areas in the Dinaric Alps, but such areas are found in all regions of Croatia to some extent. The Dinaric Alps contain the highest mountain in Croatia— Dinara, as well as all other mountains in Croatia higher than . Croatia's

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

mainland coast is long, while its 1,246 islands and islets encompass further of coastline—the most indented coastline in the Mediterranean.

Karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

makes up about half of Croatia and is especially prominent in the Dinaric Alps, as well as throughout the coastal areas and the islands.

Geomorphological units

The largest part of Croatia consists of lowlands, with elevations of less than above sea level recorded in 53.42% of the country. Bulk of the lowlands are found in the northern regions of the country, especially in

, representing a part of the

. Territory with elevations of above sea level encompasses 25.61% of Croatia's territory, and the areas between above sea level cover the 17.11% of the country. Further 3.71% of the land is situated at above sea level, and only 0.15% of Croatia's territory lies at elevations greater than above sea level. The greatest concentration of ground at relatively high elevations is found in

and Gorski Kotar areas in the Dinaric Alps, but such areas are found in all regions of Croatia to some extent. The Pannonian Basin and the Dinaric Alps, along with the Adriatic Basin represent major

parts of Croatia.

Adriatic Basin

Croatia's

mainland coast is long, while its 1,246 islands and islets encompass further of coastline. The distance between the extreme points of Croatia's coastline is . The number of islands includes all islands, islets, and rocks of all sizes, including ones emerging at ebb tide only. The islands include the largest ones in the Adriatic—

Cres Cres (; dlm, Crepsa, vec, Cherso, it, Cherso, la, Crepsa, Greek language, Greek: Χέρσος, ''Chersos'') is an Adriatic island in Croatia. It is one of the northern islands in the Kvarner Gulf and can be reached via ferry from Rijeka, ...

and

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kota ...

, each covering , and the tallest— Brač, whose peak reaches above sea level. The islands include 48 permanently inhabited ones, the most populous among them being Krk and Korčula. The shore is the most indented coastline in the Mediterranean. The majority of the coast is characterised by a karst topography, developed from the

Adriatic Carbonate Platform The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

. Karstification there largely began after the final uplift of the Dinarides in the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

and the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, when carbonate deposits were exposed to atmospheric effects, extending to the level of below present sea level, exposed during the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

. It is estimated that some karst formations are related to earlier immersions, most notably the Messinian salinity crisis. The largest part of the eastern coast consists of carbonate rocks, while flysch is significantly represented in the Gulf of Trieste coast, on the

Kvarner Gulf The Kvarner Gulf (, or , la, Sinus Flanaticus or ), sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal wat ...

coast opposite Krk, and in Dalmatia north of Split. There are comparably small alluvial areas of the Adriatic coast in Croatia—most notably the

Neretva Delta Neretva Delta is the river delta of the Neretva, a river that flows through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and empties in the Adriatic Sea. The delta is a unique landscape in southern Croatia, and a wetland that is listed under the Ramsar ...

. The western

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

is gradually subsiding, having sunk about in the past two thousand years. In the Middle Adriatic Basin, there is evidence of

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

volcanism observed in area of Komiža on the island of Vis and as volcanic islands of

Jabuka Jabuka, meaning ''apple'' in Serbo-Croatian, may refer to: Places * Jabuka (island), a Croatian island * Jabuka, Croatia, a village near Trilj * Jabuka (mountain), a mountain and plateau on the border between Serbia and Montenegro * Jabuka, Pan ...

and Brusnik.

Dinaric Alps

Formation of the Dinaric Alps is linked to a Late

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

to recent fold and thrust belt, itself a part of Alpine orogeny, extending southeast from the southern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. The Dinaric Alps in Croatia encompass the entire Gorski Kotar and

regions, as well as considerable parts of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, with their northeastern edge running from Žumberak to

Banovina Banovina may refer to: * Banovinas of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941 * Banovina (region) in central Croatia, also known as Banija * ''Radio Banovina'', radio station in the city of Glina, Croatia * Palace ''Banovina'', governmental bui ...

region, along the Sava River, and their westernmost landforms being Ćićarija and Učka mountains in

. The Dinaric Alps contain the highest mountain in Croatia— Dinara, as well as all other mountains in Croatia higher than — Biokovo, Velebit,

Plješivica Plješivica or Plješevica (), also called Lička Plješevica (i.e., "Plješevica of Lika"), is a mountain in Croatia and on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, part of the Dinaric Alps. It stretches in the direction north–south, and it ...

, Velika Kapela, Risnjak,

Svilaja Svilaja is a mountain range in Croatia, in the Dalmatian Hinterland. It is part of the Dinaric Alps and stretches from the town of Sinj northwest to the Petrovo field, approximately 30 km in length. The highest peak is Svilaja or Bat at 15 ...

and

Snježnik Risnjak National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Risnjak) is a national park in Croatia. It is located in Gorski Kotar, the most mountainous and heavily forested region of the country, about 15 km inland from the Adriatic Sea. The park covers an ...

makes up about half of Croatia and is especially prominent in the Dinaric Alps. There are numerous caves in Croatia, 49 of which deeper than , 14 deeper than and three deeper than . The longest cave in Croatia,

Kita Gaćešina Kita or KITA may refer to: People * Kita (surname) * Kita Alexander (born 1996), Australian singer-songwriter * João Leithardt Neto, Brazilian footballer nicknamed Kita * Sampsa Astala, Finnish musician whose stage name is Kita Places In Japa ...

, is at the same time the longest cave in the Dinaric Alps at .

Pannonian Basin

The

took shape through Miocenian thinning and

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

of crust structures formed during Late

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

Variscan orogeny. The Paleozoic and

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

structures are visible in

Papuk Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna gora and Psunj to the southwest. The highest peak is the eponymous ...

and other Slavonian mountains. The processes also led to formation of a stratovolcanic chain in the basin 17 – 12

Mya Mya may refer to: Brands and product names * Mya (program), an intelligent personal assistant created by Motorola * Mya (TV channel), an Italian Television channel * Midwest Young Artists, a comprehensive youth music program Codes * Burmese ...

and intensified subsidence observed until 5 Mya as well as flood basalts about 7.5 Mya. Contemporary uplift of 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 ...

severed water flow to 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 ...

and

Pannonian Sea The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient lake, where the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe is now. The Pannonian Sea existed from about 10 Ma (million years ago) until 1 Ma, during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, when marine sediments were dep ...

formed in the basin. Sediment were transported to the basin from uplifting Carpathian and Dinaric mountains, with particularly deep fluvial sediments being deposited in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

during uplift of the

Transdanubian Mountains __NOTOC__ The Transdanubian Mountains (sometimes also referred to as ''Bakony Forest, Dunántúl Highlands, Highlands of Dunántúl, Highlands of Transdanubia, Mountains of Dunántúl, Mountains of Transdanubia, Transdanubian Central Range, Tra ...

. Ultimately, up to of the sediment was deposited in the basin, and the sea eventually drained through the Iron Gate gorge. The results of those processes are large plains in the eastern Slavonia,

Baranya Baranya or Baranja may refer to: * Baranya (region) or Baranja, a region in Hungary and Croatia * Baranya County, a county in modern Hungary * Baranya County (former), a county in the historic Kingdom of Hungary * Baranya, Hungarian name of villag ...

and

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

, as well as in river valleys, especially along

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

and

Kupa The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from la, Colapis in Roman times; hu, Kulpa) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with its border part having a length of and th ...

. The plains are interspersed by the horst and

structures, believed to break the Pannonian Sea surface as islands. The tallest among such landforms are Ivanšćica and Medvednica north of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

and in Hrvatsko Zagorje as well as Psunj and Papuk which are the tallest among the Slavonian mountains surrounding Požega. Psunj, Papuk and adjacent

Krndija Krndija is a mountain in Slavonia, Croatia, extending eastwards from Papuk. It is located south of Orahovica and Našice and north of Požega. The westernmost point of Krndija is the mountain pass that connects Orahovica with Kutjevo; the easter ...

consist mostly of Paleozoic rocks which are 350 – 300 million years old. Požeška gora, adjacent to Psunj, consists of much more recent

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

rocks, but there are also Upper

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

sediments and

igneous rocks Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

forming the main,

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

of the hill and representing the largest igneous landform in Croatia. A smaller igneous landform is also present on Papuk, near

Voćin Voćin is a village and municipality in western Slavonia, Croatia, located southwest of Slatina and east of Daruvar. The population of the municipality is 1,911, with 956 people living in Voćin itself (census 2021). Geography Voćin, a pilgrima ...

. The two, as well as

Moslavačka gora Moslavačka Gora is a small mountain range located in central Croatia at the borders of Bjelovar-Bilogora County and Sisak–Moslavina County. They belong to the sunken boulder Highlands of palaeogeological origin, rich in mineral resources (gran ...

are possible remnants of a volcanic arc related to uplifting of the Dinaric Alps.

References