Cres
Cres (; , , , , 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, the island Krk or from the Istrian peninsula (line Brestova-Porozina). With an area of 405.78 km, Cres is the same size as the neighbouring island of Krk, although Krk has for many years been thought the largest of the islands. Cres has a population of 3,079 (2011). Cres and the neighbouring island of Lošinj once used to be one island, but were divided by a channel and connected with  a bridge at the town of Osor. Cres's only fresh water source is the Lake Vrana. History. Cres has been inhabited since the Paleolithic time period. Its name predates classical antiquity and is derived from Proto-Indo-European "*(s)quer-" ("cliff"). Although this is one view, another more historically correct is from classical antiquity, when the town was founded and inhabited by ancient Greeks, and called it Chersos (Χέρσος); "chersos" in Greek means "barren land", "uncultivated land" and "dry heaths". Later, "Chersos" was resounded to "Cresta", from which eventually the modern name "Cherso-Cres" is derived. Cres was later ruled  by the Greeks and, by the 1st century B.C., the Roman Empire make province of Liburnia. After the fall of the Roman Empire the island was taken over and became a part of the Byzantine Empire, and remained this way for centuries. Slavs first arrived on the island in the early 9th century (believed to be somewhere around 812). Around 866 the Byzantine inhabitants saw their first conflicts with the Republic of Venice. The Venetians eventually took control of Cres and the neighboring islands in the 10th and 11th centuries. However, in the islands is being ruled for 400 years  the Venetians took control. After Napoleon's victory over the Venetians, the island came under Austrian rule. After the defeat of Austria by Napoleon in 1809 the islands became part of the French Empire. After the fall of Napoleon, Austria once again took control of the island for 100 years. During this time the economy developed with olive trees, sage, and other plants becoming key to the success of the island. At the end of World War I, with the Treaty of Rapallo signed in 1920, the island was once again handed over to Italy. This lasted until 1947 when  the Islands, along with Istrian Peninsula, were assigned to Yugoslavia. The island has gone through an agricultural downturn as many residents left the island in search of a better life on the mainland and abroad. This has resulted in many former agricultural areas becoming overgrown with local vegetation. Recently people, primarily retirees, have been returning to live on the island. Tourism has become an increasingly important industry and the population experiences significant seasonal variation. Towns of Cres. The island has several villages, all of them connected by a road that runs down the middle of the island. On one side  is the ferry from Porozina to Brestova (in Istria). Another ferry runs from Merag to Valbiska (on the neighbouring island of Krk) ; on the other is the bridge to Lošinj ("Lussino"), which was once connected by land but is now separated by a waterway. A list of the villages with descriptions is below: Lake Vrana. Cres has its own fresh water lake, which is very highly guarded and illegal to swim or fish in. It supplies water to neighboring Lošinj (it. "Lussino") as well. It is the largest lake in Croatia by volume and one of the deepest fresh water  lakes in Eastern Europe, going down 76 meters at its deepest point (>50 m below sea-level). Flora and fauna. Cres is home to many different types of nonvenomous snakes, including "Elaphe quatuorlineata", "Zamenis longissimus", "Zamenis situla", and "Natrix tessellata", a snake rare or absent on other Adriatic islands. The island has a relatively large breeding population of the endangered Eurasian griffon vulture, which can often be seen soaring over the island. Climate. The main part of Cres features a mid-latitude humid subtropical climate (Köppen : "Cfa") under the Köppen climate classification. Winters are cool and damp, punctuated by  the Bora wind and summers are hot and quite dry, bordering on a hot-summer mediterranean climate ("Csa"). Further south, Lošinj island enjoys a true hot-summer mediterranean climate ("Csa") with cool and damp winters and hot, distinctly dry summers.