Kamešnica is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

, located in the southern end of the Dinara Mountain Range on the border between

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(

Canton 10 Canton 10 (, , , ) is one of the ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a political entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest canton by area and eighth by population. The local government seat is in Livno, while the ...

) and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

). It is high and stretches from the northwest white road pass Vaganj (1,173 m) to the Buško Blato artificial lake. The tallest peak is ''Konj'' (''Horse'') , which is located in

and offers views of both sides of the border. In clear weather, it is possible to see the most remote areas of the

Adriatic Sea 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 Se ...

and its islands. The vicinity's many trails and caves make it popular with hikers.

Ecosystem

Kamešnica is a favorable habitat for many species of plants and animals. The

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

of the northern parts of the mountain has been completely preserved due to its isolated location and the thick

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

that surrounds it.

Climate

Most of Kamešnica's peaks are covered by snow for six to seven months of the year. Most of Kamešnica has a

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

characterized by its position in two main climate regions; continental (northern side which is surrounded by Livanjsko field, 700 m above sea-level with mean annual temperature of 9 °C) and submediterranean (southern side which is surrounded by Sinjsko field, 300 m above sea-level where the mean annual temperature is 12.5 °C). Only the highest parts of Kamešnica (above 1300 m), have a snowy-forested

. The weather and the mean annual air temperature can be compared using data of ''Zavizan metro station'' (1594 m). The lowest temperature on Kamešnica during the winter approximately measures -20 °C. Mean annual quantity of precipitation on Kamešnica ranges from 1200 mm to 2500 mm (maximum quantity on the peaks ''Konj'', ''Kurljaj'', ''Burnjaca'' and ''Gareta''). In general, the climate of Kamešnica is very similar to the climate of

Velebit Velebit (; ; ) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the northwest near ...

. The ''"Bura"'' is a dry and cold

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

that blows from the northeast (from continent towards sea). While the ''bura'' is blowing, the peaks of Kamešnica are in the cloud called ''"Cap"''. In February 2021, the mountain was declared as the 12th Croatia's Nature Park.

Mountain huts

In the 1935–1936 season, the ''Sklonište prof. Giromette''

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

, at in elevation, saw 593 visitors, including 29 Czechoslovak, 12 Italian and 6 German citizens. The mountain hut on ''Vaganj'' at saw 152 visitors, including 2 Czechoslovak citizens In the 1936–1937 season, ''Sklonište prof. Giromette'' saw 473 visitors, including 2 Czechoslovak and 2 French citizens; that on Vaganj saw 530 visitors, including 5 Austrian, 5 German, 4 Czechoslovak and 2 French citizens. In the 1937–1938 season the ''Sklonište prof. Giromette'' saw 234 visitors, including 5 Czechoslovak and 3 Italian citizens; the mountain hut on Vaganj saw 650 visitors, including 21 Italian and 15 Czechoslovak citizens.

References

Bibliography

External links