page_title: Velebit
section_title: The caves
hierarchical_section_title: Velebit / The caves
caption_attribution_description: English: Typical Velebit landscape
context_page_description: 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 Senj with the Vratnik mountain pass and ends 145 km to the southeast near the source of the Zrmanja river northwest of Knin.
  Its highest peak is the Vaganski vrh at 1,757 m. Major mountain passes on Velebit include the aforementioned Vratnik or Senjsko bilo at 694 m.a.s.l., where the Josephina connects Senj with Josipdol; Oštarijska vrata at 928 m.a.s.l. that connects Karlobag and Gospić; and Prezid at 766 m.a.s.l. that connects Obrovac and Gračac.
  The important characteristic of Velebit is its simple, solid form, stiff cliffs, and the nakedness of seaward side and the wood-covered slopes of the Lika side. The basic geological characteristic of the mountains is karst; flora and fauna are abundant.
context_section_description: There are hundreds of "holes" on Velebit. It has the largest and deepest caves in Croatia. The three-part "Lukina jama" cave is 1392 m deep, making it one of the deepest caves in the world, and the deepest in southeast Europe, while the "Slovačka jama" is 1320 m. What makes it unique is that it is completely vertical, steepest in the world. At the bottom of the pothole is a water course or siphon with branches that are still unexplored. A kind of leech was discovered in the pothole, which has been ascertained  to represent a new species, genus and family; it has been named Erpobdella mestrovi.
  List of potholes on Velebit deeper than 500 m:
  Lukina Jama, 1392 m, Hajdučki Kukovi – North Velebit
  Slovačka Jama, 1320 m, Rožanski Kukovi – North Velebit
  Velebita, 941 m, Rožanski Kukovi – North Velebit
  Meduza, 679 m, Rožanski Kukovi – North Velebit
  Patkov Gušt, 553 m, Hajdučki Kukovi – North Velebit
  Ledena Jama, 536 m, Lomska Duliba – North Velebit
  Ponor na Bunovcu, 534 m, Bunovac – South Velebit
  Jama Olimp, 531 m, Hajdučki Kukovi – North Velebit
  Lubuška Jama, 521 m, Hajdučki Kukovi – North Velebit
  It is also home to Degenia velebitica, an endemic and protected species of plant in the mustard family discovered in 1907 by the Hungarian botanist Árpád von Degen.
  The imposing nature of the Velebit mountain has made it something of a national symbol in Croatian folklore. There is a patriotic folk song "Vila Velebita" that personifies a fairy in Velebit.
caption: Typical Velebit landscape
exif: {}