Malá Fatra (; also Little Fatra or Lesser Fatra, pl, Mała Fatra, hu, Kis-Fátra) is a

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

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...

in the north-west of Central

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 ...

. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the

Fatra-Tatra Area The Fatra-Tatra Area (in geomorphology) or the Tatra-Fatra Belt of core mountains (in geology) is a part of the Inner Western Carpathians, a subprovince of the Western Carpathians. Most of the area lies in Slovakia with small parts reaching into ...

.Craig Stephen Cravens ''Culture And Customs of the Czech Republic And Slovakia'' 2006 Page 3 "Two smaller ranges forming part of the Tatras are the Malá Fatra and the Vel'ká Fatra. Another popular region for outdoor enthusiasts is Slovenský Raj, literally Slovak Paradise, an area of exceptional natural beauty, and of rare flora and fauna." It is situated approximately between the cities of

Nitrianske Pravno Nitrianske Pravno (; until 1946 ''Nemecké Pravno'' , german: Deutschproben / ''Deutsch Pranno'', hu, Németpróna) is a village and municipality in Prievidza District in the Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region ( sk, Trenčiansky kraj, ; ...

Strečno Strečno ( hu, Sztrecsény) is a village and municipality in the Žilina District in the Žilina Region in North Slovakia. It is located by the Váh River in the Malá Fatra Mts. Situated 7 km east from Žilina, Strečno is most famous for its ...

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

and Zázrivá. Turčianska kotlina (Turiec Basin) and the

Oravská vrchovina The Orava Highlands (in Slovak, ''Oravská vrchovina'') is a range of small mountains in the Žilina Region The Žilina Region ( sk, Žilinský kraj; pl, Kraj żyliński; hu, Zsolnai kerület) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regio ...

Mts. are situated to the west of the range, and Žilinská kotlina (Žilina Basin) and the Kysucká vrchovina Mts. is located to the east. Malá Fatra consists of two subdivisions separated by the

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

river near

: Lúčanská Malá Fatra and Krivánska Malá Fatra. The highest peak is

Veľký Kriváň Veľký Kriváň (Polish language, Polish: ''Wielki Krywań'') is the highest mountain in the Lesser Fatra mountain range in Western Carpathians in Slovakia. References External links

* Mountains of Slovakia Mountains of the Western ...

at 1,709 m

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The c ...

in Krivánska Malá Fatra. Malá Fatra is basically one large karst feature. It is made up of

crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

rocks and complexes of

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 Creta ...

strongly folded rocks. The main peaks of Lúčanská Malá Fatra are Veľká Lúka (1,475 m), Kľak (1,351 m) and Minčol (1,364). The main peaks of the Krivánska Malá Fatra are

Veľký Rozsutec Veľký Rozsutec (1,609.7 m; 5,281.17 ft AMSL) is a mountain situated in the Malá Fatra mountain range in the Žilina Region, Slovakia. The peak is situated in the north part of Malá Fatra called Krivánska Malá Fatra and is part of the Ma ...

(1,610 m), Malý Rozsutec (1,343 m), Veľký Kriváň (1,709 m) and Malý Kriváň (1,671 m). The 12 km long pass between Krivánska Malá Fatra and Lúčanská Malá Fatra separated by the Váh is called ''Strečnianska tiesňava'' (Strečno Pass), located below the ruins of

Strečno Castle The Strečno Castle ( sk, Strečniansky hrad)(also called Strechun, Strechyn, Streczen, Streczan alebo Strežín) is a reconstructed ruin of a medieval castle of an irregular plan located in northern Slovakia, 12 km east of Žilina. The castl ...

. The Dierový potok stream created a complex of canyons, waterfalls and cascades in that area.

Šútovo Šútovo is a village and municipality in Martin District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1403. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 460 metres and covers ...

Waterfall (''Šútovský vodopád '') is the highest waterfall in Malá Fatra and has a vertical drop of 38 m. Popular centres for winter sports are

Vrátna dolina image:Vratna dolina.jpg, 300px, Vrátna dolina (Vrátna Valley) as seen from the Poludňový Grúň (1,460 m) mountain Vrátna dolina or Vrátna Valley is a valley in the Malá Fatra mountain range in Slovakia. It is situated 3 kilometers from the ...

and Štefanová. Other tourism centres are the villages of

Terchová Terchová ( hu, Terhely) is a large village and municipality (population 4,073) in the Malá Fatra mountains in the Žilina District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. Names and etymology In the 16th century, the village was known a ...

, where the Slovak national hero Juraj Jánošík was born and Zázrivá, where the traditional Slovak sheep cheese delicacy known as korbáčiky is made. One of the most popular ski areas in Slovakia outside the Tatras is the Martinské hole resort situated between the Veľká lúka Mountain and the town of

. Krivánska Malá Fatra is protected by the

Malá Fatra National Park The Malá Fatra National Park (Slovak: ''Národný park Malá Fatra'') is a national park in the northern part of the Malá Fatra mountains called Krivánska Malá Fatra. It has an area of 226.3 km2 (87.37 mi2) and a 232.62 km2 (89. ...

. In addition, Malá Fatra includes the following small-scale protection areas: *national nature reserves: Chleb, Minčol, Krivé, Šútovská dolina, Sokolec, Suchý, Starý hrad, Prípor, Šíp, Šrámková, Rozsutec, Tiesňavy, Veľká Bránica, Kľačianska Magura *nature reserves: Dubovské lúky, Goľove mláky, Hajasová, Hrabinka, Hrádok, Kraľoviansky meander, Močiar, Paráč, Pod Rígľom, Veľká Lučivná *natural monuments: Bôrická mláka, Domašínsky meander, Krasniansky luh, Šútovská epigenéza *protected site: Hate

Gallery

Image:Velky krivan.jpg, Veľký Kriváň, the highest mountain of the range Image:Klak.jpg, Kľak Image:Malá Fatra by Pudelek 06 - Chleb.JPG, Chleb Image:Starý hrad.jpg, Starý hrad Image:Tiesňavy.jpg,

Image:Velky Rozsutec.jpg, Veľký Rozsutec Mountain Image:Martin ( east view ).jpg, Martinské hole ski resort Image:Mala fatra2.jpg, Vrátna dolina Image:Sutovsky vodopad.jpg, 38m tall Šútovo Waterfall

References

External links

Malá Fatra
a
SpectacularSlovakia.skHiking map of Krivánska Malá Fatra
an
Lúčanská Malá Fatra
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Military Cartographic Institute (VKÚ Harmanec)Another hiking map
wit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mala Fatra Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians

Gallery

See also

References

External links