Hutovo Blato

Hutovo Blato is a nature reserve and bird reserve located in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is primarily composed of marshlands that were created by the underground aquifer system of the Krupa River. It is fed from the limestone massif of Ostrvo that divides the Deransko Lake and Svitavsko Lake.[1] The reserve is on the list of BirdLife International's Important Bird Areas. It is the largest reserve of its kind in the region, in terms of both size and diversity. It is home to over 240 types of migratory birds and dozens that make their permanent home in the sub-Mediterranean wetlands surrounding Deransko Lake.[2] In the migration season, tens of thousands of birds fill the lake and its surroundings.

Hutovo Blato
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
Crystal clear, cold water of this unusual kind of marsh, Hutovo Blato Nature Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Location in Bosnia and Herzegovina
LocationHerzegovina-Neretva Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates43.06°N 17.79°E / 43.06; 17.79
Area74.11 km2 (28.61 sq mi)
Established1995
VisitorsOpen all year (in Open all year)
OperatorHutovo Blato Public Enterprise
WebsiteHutovo Blato Nature Park

Wetlands
Hutovo Blato marsh

The valley along the last 30 km of the Neretva River, and the river itself, comprise a remarkable landscape. Downstream from the confluence of its tributaries, the Trebižat and Bregava rivers, the valley spreads into an alluvial fan covering 20,000 hectares. The upper valley, the 7,411 hectares in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is called Hutovo Blato.

Ramsar site

Neretva Delta has been recognised as a Ramsar site since 1992, and Hutovo Blato since 2001. Both areas form one integrated Ramsar site that is a natural entity divided by the state border.[3] The Important Bird Areas programme, conducted by BirdLife International, covers protected areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[4]

Hutovo Blato Nature Park
Gornje Blato - Deransko Lake

Since 1995, Hutovo Blato has been protected as a Hutovo Blato Nature Park[5][6] and managed by a public authority. The whole zone is well protected from human impact and functions as an important habitat for many plants and animals .[4] Historical site, Old Fortress Hutovo Blato, is located in the area of Nature Park. Nature Park "Hutovo Blato" is located in the South-Western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30 km from City of Mostar and near the Croatian border. It stretches over an area of about 7,411 ha and represents one of the richest wetland reserves in Europe. Until 1995, when the cantonal protected area was founded, Hutovo Blato represented well-known area mainly for its hunting and fishing tourism. Every winter over 200 species of birds find their shelter inside this untouched nature.[7] Visitors can enjoy relaxation, recreational activities in nature, sport-fishing, cycling and main tourist attraction – photo safari. There is also an educational path providing information of park and for rising environmental awareness and need for preservation of natural heritage in Nature park "Hutovo Blato".

Gornje Blato - Deransko Lake
Main article: Deransko Lake
Donje Blato - Svitavsko Lake

The part of the park which kept its original form and almost untouched nature. Gornje Blato-Deransko Lake is supplied by the karstic water sources of the Trebišnjica river, emerging in the proximity of the bordering hills. It is hydro-geologically connected to the Neretva river through its effluent, the Krupa river, formed out of 5 lakes (Škrka, Deranja, Jelim, Orah, Drijen) and by large portions permanently flooded, also isolated by wide groves of reedbebds and trees, thus representing the most interesting preserved area.[8]

Donje Blato - Svitavsko Lake
Main article: Svitavsko Lake

Krupa River
Main article: Krupa (Neretva)
Krupa river

The Krupa River is the Neretva left tributary and the main water current of Hutovo Blato, which leads the waters from Deransko Lake and Svitavsko Lake into the Neretva river. The length of Krupa River is 9 km with an average depth of 5 meters. The Krupa River does not have an actual source, but is actually an arm of Deransko Lake. Also, the Krupa River is a unique river in Europe, because the river flows both ways. It flows 'normally' from the 'source' to the mouth and from the mouth to the 'source'. This happens when, due to high water level and large quantity of water, river Neretva pushes the Krupa River in opposite direction .[9]

Biodiversity

Endemic and autochthonous fish
Main article: Salmo marmoratus
Salmo dentex inhabiting Hutovo marshes and the Krupa river

Birds

Systematic list of registered species on 13 April 2001:[2]

Archaeological and historic sites

Hutovo Fortress historical site
Main article: Hutovo fortress

Historical site, Hutovo fortress, is located in the area of Nature Park.

Desilo archaeological site
Main article: Desilo
Desilo acheological underwater site at Hutovo Blato

After intense excavations in the area of Hutovo Blato in the autumn of 2008, archaeologists from the University of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the University of Lund (Sweden) found the very first traces of an Illyrian trading post, thought to be more than two thousand years old. The find is unique in a European perspective and the archaeologists have concluded that Desilo, as the location is called, was an important trading post and a site of significant contact between the Illyrians and the Romans. Surprisingly large finds have been made in a short period of time. The archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a settlement, the remains of a harbour that probably functioned as a trading post, as well as many sunken boats, fully laden with wine pitchers – so-called amphorae – from the 1st century BC.[10] The archaeologist Adam Lindhagen, who holds a PhD from the University of Lund and has specialised in Roman wine amphorae, says that this is the most important find of all time from the Illyrian areas.[11][12]

Krupa river within Hutovo Blato Nature Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
gollark: Although really we should abolish time zones and use UTC everywhere.
gollark: But if you just stick time zones down arbitrary lines, you will split up countries which *could* be one time zone.
gollark: No.
gollark: <@!529362061658947584> Because uniform rectangles lead to problems like different time zones applying in the middle of countries on some arbitrary line.
gollark: yes

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. PTICE.NET :: Portal ljubitelja ptica i prirode (dpDocs)
  3. "Transboundary management of the lower Neretva valley – background". Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  4. "Neretva Delta". Transboundary Cooperation Through the Management of Shared Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  5. Hutovo Blato Nature Park
  6. "Hutovo Blato Nature Park – Network of Adriatic Parks". Network of Adriatic Parks. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  7. "Hutovo Blato – NAP – Network of Adriatic Parks". NAP – Network of Adriatic Parks. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  8. "Gornje-Deransko Blato – Hutovo Blato – NAP – Network of Adriatic Parks". NAP – Network of Adriatic Parks. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  9. "Krupa river & Hutovo Blato – NAP – Network of Adriatic Parks". NAP – Network of Adriatic Parks. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  10. "Bosnian archaeologists discover fabled ships". iol.co.za. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  11. "The world's first Illyrian trading post found". Apollon – University of Oslo. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  12. "Unique Archaeological Discovery in Balkan: World's First Illyrian Trading Post Found". Science Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
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