The Učka (, ) is a mountain range in western

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 ...

. It rises behind the Opatija riviera, on the eastern side of the

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

n peninsula. It forms a single morphological unit together with the Ćićarija range which stretches from the Bay of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. Učka is a limestone massif with numerous areas of

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

, stretching for 20 km from the Poklon Pass (920 m) to Plomin Bay, and is between 4 and 9 km wide.Naklada Naprijed, ''The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide'', pg. 89, Zagreb (1999), It differs from all the other coastal mountains in Croatia because of its abundant vegetation on the seaward side. Best known are the forests of sweet chestnuts in the area around Lovran. Učka's highest peaks are considered nature reserves and memorial areas. The highest peak, Vojak, is located at 1,396 meters above sea level. It offers views over Istria, the Bay of Kvarner, the Julian Alps and the Adriatic islands, right down to Dugi Otok. The subject of a degree of local folklore, Učka is visible from much of the peninsula and is

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

-capped some months of the year. The town of Opatija () is said to have derived its popularity as a resort in Imperial Austria because it is located "in the shade" of Mt. Učka, which by legend shields it from the fierce

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

heat in summertime. The area of Učka is designated as a nature park (''park prirode'') in Croatia. Historically, the Istro-Romanians, a Romance

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

, have been separated by the mountain range, forming two areas of concentration: one in the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of Žejane and one in the village of Šušnjevica and the surrounding settlements. Although these areas are 50 kilometers away from each other, there is a

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

around the Učka that connects them.

Climate

Between 1968 and 2003, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 15 August 1993. The coldest temperature was , on 6 January 1985.

References

Bibliography

External links

Učka Nature Park

Land Art Trail on Mt. Učka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ucka Mountain ranges of Croatia Nature parks of Croatia Istria Landforms of Istria County

Climate

See also

References

Bibliography

External links