Slītere National Park
| Slītere National Park | |||
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| Location: | Latvia | ||
| Next city: | Valdemārpils , Talsi , Ventspils | ||
| Surface: | 264.9 km² | ||
| Founding: | 2000 | ||
| Address: | Dundaga , Dakterlejas iela 3 (former forest office) | ||
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The Slītere National Park (Latvian: Slīteres nacionālais parks ) is the smallest of the four national parks in Latvia . It belongs to the European Natura 2000 network . The area is located on the northern tip of Courland around Cape Kolka . It includes 163.6 km² of land and 101.3 km² of water up to the 10 m depth line in the Baltic Sea.
The national park is divided into several protection zones. Individual parts are not allowed to be entered by visitors. However, there are several cycling and hiking trails through the national park.
history
The park was created u. a. from the 11 km² Slītere nature reserve, whose forest had been uncultivated since 1921. In 1957 the reserve was expanded to 78.6 km², and in 1977 to 148.8 km². At the time of the Soviet Union, large parts were left to their own devices as a restricted military area.
In 2000 the nature reserve was established as a national park.
Geology and geography
The landscape is unique, with its alternation of kangari ( Finno-Ugric “kangars” = hill, elevation), wooded, elongated, mostly parallel dunes, some of which extend for up to 15 kilometers, and vigās ( Finno-Ugric “viga “= Inhospitable, uninhabitable), the swampy or wet strip in between. Kangari and vigās were formed when the ice sheet melted at the end of the Vistula glaciation .
In the south of the national park are the “Blue Mountains” ( Zilie kalni ), up to 35 m high rock formations that drop off steeply to the south and east, almost in a semicircle. They once formed the coast of the Baltic ice reservoir at the end of the Vistula glacial period .
Flora and fauna
Due to the different habitats, there is also a diversified flora and fauna with many plant, mushroom and animal species that are often only found here within Latvia. 128 mosses, 195 lichens and more than 700 fungi were documented. The slopes of the Blue Mountains are covered with wild garlic , yew trees, Baltic ivy, mountain speedwell and shield ferns . In Latvia, the forest barley and the dull-flowered bulrush occur only in this national park.
The largest beetle indigenous to Latvia, the Mulmbock and its larvae, live in the pine stands . The green pear beetle , threatened with extinction in Latvia , can be found in the national park in the original mixed deciduous forest with many old trees and dead wood as a breeding ground. The adult beetles feed on flowering plants, especially meadowsweet .
Protected amphibians and reptiles are the natterjack toad , the European pond turtle and the smooth snake .
125 species of birds breed here, including the capercaillie , the black grouse and the black stork as well as ospreys , short- toed eagles , golden eagles and eagle owls . The area is on the path of migratory birds. The flight through is concentrated at Cape Kolka: in spring and autumn several tens of thousands of birds fly by here an hour.
40 species of mammals have been recorded in the national park, including the wolf , the lynx and the elk . Small mammals include the forest birch vole , the dormouse and the water shrew . The beaver , which is common in the national park, shapes the landscape by building its dams.
The lighthouse in the blue mountains
The 32 m high lighthouse ( Slīteres bāka ) was built in 1849, unusually not on the coast, but about 5.3 km away inland. The hill on which it stands has served seafarers as a landmark since ancient times . From above you have a good panoramic view over the Blue Mountains and their flanks with natural deciduous forest, over the upstream marshland (the vigās ), fanned out by the pine-covered dunes (the kangari ), and over the coast with sandy beaches.
Surroundings
In the coastal villages such as Kolka , Mazirbe , Sīkrags and Saunags, the Liv language and culture survived the longest.
