Montenegrin coast
The Montenegrin coast ( Montenegrin Crnogorsko primorje / Црногорско приморје, Albanian also Bregdeti malazez) is the Adriatic coast of Montenegro . It is one of the most pronounced karst cliffs on the Mediterranean and is characterized by one of the largest and deepest sea bays in the Mediterranean , the Bay of Kotor , which is sometimes geologically incorrectly referred to as the Mediterranean fjord and, as the most important natural harbor on the Adriatic coast, has long been an important naval base served.
The Montenegrin coast is one of the rainiest regions in the Mediterranean. At the mountain resort of Crkvice , the highest value in Europe is measured with an annual rainfall of over 4500 mm. Due to the shielding effect of the steep high mountains of the Orjens rising above the narrow coastal zone and the Lovčen massif, which is considered the national mountains, there is also a specifically humid subtype of subtropical vegetation in the climatically favorable area .
A major earthquake with a ML = 7.3 on the Richter scale last occurred in 1979 in the area, which is highly prone to earthquakes , and the historic old town of Kotor was largely destroyed.
location
The Montenegrin coast stretches between the Prevlaka peninsula on the Bay of Kotor ( ⊙ ) to Ada Bojana ( ⊙ ) for over 200 km. The Dalmatian coast connects to the north and the Albanian coast to the south . The Montenegrin coastal zone forms the end of the Dinaric littoral coastal chains of the Dinaric Alps between Slovenia, Croatia and Albania.
Located directly in front of the greatest depths of the Adriatic Sea, unlike the Dalmatian coast, it is not characterized by offshore islands.
With the exception of the southernmost 12 km long coastline, the Montenegrin cliffs also differ greatly from the Albanian low coast due to the strongly folded and geologically complex structure.
geography
Geology and tectonics
The Montenegrin coast is mainly formed by the tectonic units of the Adriatic-Ionic fold zone and the Pindus-Cukali zone . Only in the interior of the Bay of Kotor does the high karst ceiling of the Dinaric orogen extend directly to the sea.
If the high karst cover and the Adriatic-Ionian zone are characterized by Mesozoic limestone and thus water-permeable karst rocks, the narrow strip of the Pindus-Cukali zone is formed by calcareous flysche and water-impermeable conglomerates.
In particular, the coastal section of the inner bays of the Bay of Kotor and the coastal section of Budva are particularly impressive cliffs due to their geological features. The limestone of the outer Pindus-Cukali zone, which is not very varied, forms a steep cliff with some well-known sea caves ( Plava spilja ), especially on the Luštica peninsula .
The most important distinction to the Dalmatian coast is the lack of an offshore row of islands and the deep cut of the Bay of Kotor. The Montenegrin coast does not belong to the canal coast like the Dalmatian coast, but is a Riyal coast . The Bay of Kotor, as a flooded former river valley, is geologically a ria, but with steeper slopes and greater height differences than the rias in Galicia, Spain . Visually, the Bay of Kotor is more reminiscent of a Norwegian fjord with its steep mountain slopes .
The neotectonically extremely active areas between Shkodra and the Bay of Kotor are due to the subduction of the small Adriatic plate under the Dinarides. The region of the Orjens around the Bay of Kotor experiences maximum uplift rates of 6 mm / a. The catastrophic earthquake of April 15, 1979 destroyed practically the entire tourist infrastructure between Kotor and Ulcinj . 101 people died and 100,000 people became homeless.
Topography and relief
The abrasion of the sea waves on the Montenegrin coast, as there is no offshore island chain, is stronger than on the Dalmatian coast, where the swell is hindered by the island chains. Since it is also located in front of a narrow base in front of a deeper drop in the southern Adriatic at 1280 m depth, the shift in the coast of the Mediterranean Sea was only insignificant here, even during the Ice Ages . In contrast, the middle and northern Adriatic shelf , which is only between 10 and 230 m deep, was mainland during the Ice Age eustatic sea level fluctuations, and the Dalmatian coast therefore only developed through a post-glacial transgression in recent geological times ( ingressive coast ).
Of the 260.2 km of coastline, 249.1 km are on the narrow coast and 11.1 km on the islands (according to other data, the coastline is 293.5 km long). The Montenegrin coast can be divided into three landscape units. The deeply cut bay of Kotor, the steep coast of the Montenegrin Riviera and the Great Beach ( Velika plaža ) south of Ulcinj . Only in the southern part of Montenegro is a low coast developed from Ulcinj, which merges seamlessly into the Albanian low coast.
The steeply sloping coast is separated from the interior by the limestone mountains of the hinterland ( Orjen , Lovčen, Rumija). Apart from minor islands of Kotor bay as the former fortress island Mamula , the small Catholic pilgrim islands Sveti Đorđe and Our Lady of the Rocks and the so-called Krtoljski Archipelago (with the orthodox Sanctuary island Miholjska Prevlaka (also Sv. Arhanđel Mihailo or Ostrvo Cvijeca ) called Školj (better known as the former Club Mediterran ée Resort Sveti Marko and Gospa od Milosti ), Sveti Nikola and Sveti Stefan are the only islands on the Montenegrin coast in the open sea. The flat triangular island of Ada Bojana is still in the Boyana Delta. None of the small Montenegrin islands are permanently inhabited.
The two larger peninsulas Luštica and Vrmac in particular divide the Bay of Kotor.
The most important coastal cities of Montenegro developed mostly protected in the natural harbor of the Bay of Kotor, the most important historical place outside this natural harbor was Stari Bar, 10 km from the coast . Today Budva , with the most dynamic population and economic growth, takes the first place among the central places on the coast of Montenegro.
Regionalization
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor is directly connected to the Dalmatian coast and extends with 108 km of coastline 30 km into the high karst zone between the Orjen and Lovčen mountains. The bay is separated from the open sea by the Luštica peninsula . In particular, the inner bays are very impressive due to their almost overhanging and partly 1000 m steep slopes. The Bay of Kotor reaches depths of up to 60 m and is Montenegro's most water-rich stretch of coast thanks to numerous predominantly underground springs. The largest number of Montenegrin coastal towns have been formed here, including Herceg Novi , Tivat , Risan , Perast , Dobrota and Kotor .
The Bay of Kotor has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique shape and the importance of its coastal towns .
Montenegrin Riviera
The Montenegrin Riviera stretches between the cities of Budva and Bar . The coastal section is separated in the hinterland in particular from Lovčen , Paštrovci and Rumija . A few smaller islets and reefs emerge on the Riviera. The seafaring town of Sveti Stefan , which is now connected to the mainland by a dam, is particularly well known.
Some of the most famous beaches on the Montenegrin coast are between Petrovac and Sutomore , including the formerly royal Mogren beach.
Velika plaža
The 11 km long section of Velika plaža begins near Ulcinj . The compensation coast extends to the delta of the Bojana . The small island of Ada , Montenegro's largest island, has formed in the Bojana Estuary . In addition to the lagoon of Ulcinjska solana the Bojana estuary one of the most important areas is the protection of birds on the Adriatic coast.
The Velika plaža beach is between 100 and 125 m wide. Behind the beach there are smaller dunes, which are also in several stages one behind the other towards the Boyana. In addition to the used for salt production lagoon of Ulcinjska solana have further inland towards the Skadar Lake formed smaller lakes (Sasko jezero) . These were once parts of sea bays, but are now separated from the sea by the floating sediment of the Bojana.
The Ada Bojana lies directly in the Bojana estuary, which pushes its delta further and further into the sea. The Ada has a circumference of 10 km and is 4.7 km² in size.
climate
The Montenegrin coast is one of the warmest parts of the Adriatic and also forms the rainiest part of the coast. The average temperatures are between 15.5 and 16.5 ° C, the total rainfall between 1500 mm and 3000 mm per year. In the hinterland directly above the Bay of Kotor, the annual rainfall also reaches its European record. In the Krivošije near Crkvice at an altitude of 930 m, over 4500 mm of rain falls per year.
The stretch of coast from the Croatian border via Igalo , Herceg Novi to Risan is particularly mild and sunny . This is also characterized by the numerous originally Eastern Mediterranean cypress, palm and laurel-oleander forest formations near Risan as a favored area with favorable warmth. Rehabilitation clinics have therefore also opened at Igalo and Risan .
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Herceg Novi at an altitude of 34 m
Source: Source: “Klima Herceg Novis (1960–1991)”, website of the (HMCG) Hydrometeorological Institute of Montenegro
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colonization
The Montenegrin coast is one of the most densely populated regions in Montenegro. In recent years, the strong migration from the hinterland of the coast (so-called littoralization ) has become noticeable.
The coast is mostly inhabited by Serbs and Montenegrins. The Albanian minority is strongly represented around Ulcinj. In addition to the overseas port, which is of supraregional importance due to the Belgrade – Bar railway line , only the ports in the Bay of Kotor, Tivat, Zelenika and Risan can be called by larger seagoing vessels.
Web links
- Institut Morske Biologije Site of the Marine Biological Institute in Kotor towards the Bay of Kotor
- Ecological map of Velika plaža and Ada Bojana on euronatur.org (PDF file; 689 kB)
swell
- Gachelin, C. 1977: Néotectonique et géomorphologie du Monténégro littoral. In: Méditerranée, Volume 31, Issue No. 4, 19–37.
- Radovic, M. 1981: The 1979 earthquake in Montenegro and its effect on nature and society. In: Geographica Yugoslavica, 3, 32–40, Ljubljana.
- Ridjanovic, J. 1993: The Bay of Kotor and the Sea Level Rise in the Holocene. In: Würzburger Geographische Arbeit, Volume 87, Pages 305-312, Würzburg.
- Vasovic, M. 1963: Aspects régionaux du Monténégro. In: Méditerranée, Volume 4, Issue No. 3, 3-35.
credentials
- ^ National Geographic News, January 25, 2008 New Fault Found in Europe; May "Close Up" Adriatic Sea
- ↑ RTS, April 15, 2009 Tri decenija od zemljotresa u Crnoj gori (Three decades since the earthquake in Montenegro)
- ^ Government of Montenegro, Geography of Montenegro Geography - Seaside ( Memento of the original from March 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Euronatur project report, Ada Bojana [1] (PDF; 857 kB) Basic ideas for the development of sustainable tourism on the Ada Island