Dinara

Dinara is one of the more prominent mountains located on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its Latin name is Adrian oros; the current name is suspected to be derived from the name of an ancient Illyrian tribe that lived on the eastern slopes of the mountain.

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It's best known for the fact that its name is the base for the name of a large mountain chain called the Dinaric Alps. The so-called Dinarides are known for being composed of karst — limestone rocks, as is the mountain that named them.

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Dinara itself spans from the Derala mountain pass (965 m) in the northwest, to the Privija pass (1230 m) which is 20 km to the southeast, and where the Kame?nica mountain begins. The Dinara mountain is up to 10 km wide. The highest peaks are Troglav (1913 m) ("Threehead") and Dinara (1831 m). The peak called Dinara is shaped like a head made of stone, and it happens to be the highest peak of Croatia.

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Despite the fact it's only a few dozen kilometers away from the Adriatic Sea, the climate on Dinara is hardly Mediterranean — Dinara marks the border of the area with a much colder, mountainous climate. There aren't any inhabited areas on the mountain itself: there are mostly small shacks that belong to the herdsmen from the nearby valleys such as that of the Cetina river.

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The most fascinating massif is one on the southwestern slope, which is six kilometers long and up to 1700 meters high, an interesting landscape to look at for the travellers on the roads in the valley below. The massif doesn't attract many climbers, which prefer only its O?ljak peak (1706 m).

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Dinara is host to an endemic species of rodents, a vole called "Dinarski mi?" ("Dinaric mouse"), Dolomys bogdanovi longipedis from the genus Dinaromys, which is declared an endangered species.

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Mountain: A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally much higher and steeper than a hill, but there is considerable overlap, and usage often depends on local custom. Some authorities define a mountain as a peak with a topographic prominence ...

Croatia: The Republic of Croatia is a crescent-shaped country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. In recent history, it was a republic in the SFR Yugoslavia, but it achieved independence in 1991. It is a candidate for membership of the European Union....

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H; locally: Bosna i Hercegovina/????? ? ???????????) is a triangular mountainous country in the western Balkans with an estimated population of about 4,000,000 people. The country is the homeland of its three constitutional peoples; Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs, and is famou...