Category Social Sciences

Peneda-Geres National Park is the only national park in Portugal. The Park was established to protect the soil, water, flora, fauna, and landscape of the place.

The Park is a jumble of oak forests, bogs, green valleys, and granite heights that are at least 300 million years old. Europe has a very few number of wolf packs and Peneda-Geres is home to some of them. It is also home to others, salamanders, 147 different species of birds and fifteen species of bats which are endangered. Most of the birds found here are migratory.

Wild ponies and Garrano ponies are native to the Park since a very long time. However in the mid-twentieth century, they were nearly wiped out due to extensive domestication. The Portuguese government began to rebuild the herds in the 1940s.

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If you are going to visit Sarek, be ready to see at least a hundred glaciers and several mountains that are at least 2000 metres tall. Six of Sweden’s highest mountains are in Sarek.

Sarek National Park has a unique geology that can be attributed to glacial activity. The meltwater from the glaciers flow through the valleys and form the world’s most famous alpine delta, the Rapa river delta. The continuous movement of the ice sheets produces rock dust. It is then carried away by the meltwater that later forms the deltas. The ice sheet has also sculpted large U-shaped valleys.

The Sami people came to Sarek thousands of years ago. They were hunter gatherers who hunted reindeer which were a source of meat and milk for them. Sami settlement can still be found within Sarek.

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Killarney National Park is the first and oldest national park of Ireland. It is of national and inter-national importance as the Park contains native oakwoods and yew woods. It is home to rich evergreen forests full of bryophytes and lichens. The only red deer herd on mainland Ireland resides in Killarney National Park.

The Park is of high ecological value because of the quality and diversity of many of its habitats, and the wide variety of species that they accommodate.

Killarney National Park has a diverse geology as well. The park has sandstone and limestone formations. A number of lakes add to the beauty of the Park. Lough Leane is the largest of the Killarney lakes and contains over 30 islands!

McGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Range in the Park includes Ireland’s highest Mountain, Carrauntoohill.

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Durmitor National Park is noted for its biodiversity. Within its abundant forests, high peaks and deep gorges, the Park shelters over 1500 kinds of flora and 130 kinds of birds. 314 species of protected animals can be found within the park. It is here that we find the greatest variety of butterflies in Europe.

The park is classified into seven zones-uncut forest of fir, black pine at Crna poda, canyon of Susica, region of Lake Barno, region of Lake Zaboljsko, Canyon of Tara and Milling stream. There are 17 glacier lakes in the park. Durmitor National Park is the largest protected area in Montenegro, and it was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1980.

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Can there be active volcanoes under sheets of ice? Think of hot lava oozing out through sheets of glacial ice. Sounds almost impossible, right? But, indeed there is a place on earth where active volcanoes hide under glacial ice- in the Vatnajokull National park. It is certainly a geological wonder. Vatnajokull National park is famous for its varied landscape- rivers, glacial ice, mountains, valleys, plateaus and volcanoes.

In fact, Vatnajokull is Europe’s largest glacier outside the arctic. It is also a place with strong geothermal activity; two of the world’s greatest fissure and lava eruptions of historical times occurred here. The glacier here is at least 400-600 metres thick.

One of Iceland’s national parks, Vatnajokull includes the national parks in Skaftafell.

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Sixteen beautiful lakes between limestone formations, scores of waterfalls, turquoise water…one could find all of this in Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Wherever you look, you will be smitten by breath-taking views. This natural beauty is included in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. This karstic region has specific hydro-geological properties; the dolomite rocks have the capacity to retain water. As a result, the canyons in the limestone deposits have been cut naturally to form lakes. There are twelve Upper Lakes, four Lower Lakes and several unnamed lakes. The Upper lakes are more dominant in terms of size and volume.

The mineral composition of Plitvice creates an array of stunning colours in the lakes, form teal to green, grey and blue. The water here has the power to calcify everything it touches. Therefore, one will not spot algae or mud here. Plitvice Lakes enjoy a moderate mountainous climate and the area is rich in biodiversity.

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