The Vis Archipelago — the Adriatic Blue Corridor

13 Pages·2017·1.31 MB·English

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cape of the stončica bay
with the lighthouse

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The Vis Archipelago is the central maritime zone in
the Adriatic. This triangle-shaped area comprises
the island of Vis, its nearby uninhabited islands vis
(Ravnik, Budihovac, Veli Paržanj, Mali Paržanj, Gre-
ben, Host, Veli Barjak and Mali Barjak), the further
removed, open-sea island of Palagruža (40 sea
miles south of Vis), inhabited only by a lighthouse
keeper, and the islet of Jabuka rising like a black
pyramid above the sea (some 30 sea miles west
of Vis). Within this triangle-shaped zone spread-
ing across approximately 6,000 square kilometers,
there are also the islands of Sveti Andrija, Brusnik
and Biševo, the latter being the only inhabited is-
land among the three.
italy
Aspiring Geopark Vis Archipelago 3
Geology
Among as many as 1,200 islands scattered across deep rooted faults in the Earth’s crust during the
the Adriatic coast, the islands comprising the Vis first period of the Age of Dinosaurs, the Triassic,
Archipelago have the most heterogenous rock some 220 million years ago, during the breakup
formations. In addition, these islands are also of the supercontinent Pangaea and the opening
the youngest and the oldest Adriatic islands. The of the Tethys Ocean.
youngest in the sense that they are still rising, and
the oldest in the sense that they are composed of Triassic rocks were deeply buried in the Earth’s
volcanic, salt and sedimentary rocks formed along crust beneath a few thousand-meter thick cov-
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gaće cave, southern coast of vis
libri location on the island of biševo with sedimentary
rocks rising from the bottom of the sea
er of layered sedimentary rocks of the Adriatic part of the Earth’s crust was deformed and partly During the Ice Ages the sea level was 140 meters
Carbonate Platform (ACP), deposited in the area eroded during the slow rise of the islands, which lower than today, and the hills were surrounded
during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The feature spectacular cliffs built of layered carbon- by the Adriatic steppe. The sand from the steppe
wider Adriatic area was then situated along a trop- ate rocks resembling “stone books” in which each was blown by strong winds up to the hills, forming
ical belt within the western Tethys Sea, on a small layer contains the geological record from the time sand plains and the present-day substrate for the
drifting continent called the Adriatic plate or Adria. of its deposition. In the Quaternary period, the highest quality vineyards, and some of the most
During the last few million years, the lighter Trias- two-kilometer wide “head” of the “mushroom” pro- beautiful sand beaches along the predominantly
sic salt and associated volcanic and sedimentary truded through more resistant uplifted carbonates, rocky coast. After the last Ice Age the sea flooded
rocks began to uplift and pierce through the cover and was eroded by the rain and sea, forming the the steppe, turning the hills into islands, while sub-
of carbonate rocks forming a salt diapir — a few present-day Komiža Bay. merged caves became the most beautiful natural
kilometer tall subsurface “mushroom.” The upper phenomena in the Adriatic.
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The Vis Archipelago The Vis Archipelago and its submarine The wondrous world of the corallogenic reefs
the red
area are included in the ecological net- Along the steep underwater reefs of the Vis Ar-
coral
in the ecological work EU Natura 2000. The main goal of chipelago, in spots with poor visibility and strong
currents, a heterogenous coralligenous bioceno-
this program is to maintain or improve
network EU sis has developed, filled with gorgonias, stone
the condition of preservation of target-
corals and spiny lobsters. A characteristic feature
ed biological species and their habitats.
Natura 2000 of the Vis Archipelago is the presence and pres-
This is particularly important for the is-
ervation of the commercially highly exploited
land of Vis which is, along with its open Red Coral (Corallium rubrum) at shallower than
sea islands, a bird migration corridor usual depths, and Black coral (Antipathes sp.),
between the Adriatic shores. very rare in the Adriatic, found at greater depths.
Corraligenous reefs are part of the ecological net-
work Natura 2000.
Birds of open-sea islands Bottlenose Dolphin
The Vis Archipelago is habitat to 11 bird species ob- The area of the ecological network “The Vis Ma- anica) is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, it is
served within the ecological network Natura 2000. rine Area” is a habitat of the Bottlenose dolphin the lungs of the Mediterranean and a home to
These are some of the characteristic open-sea spe- (Tursiops truncatus). The size of its population is many commercially exploited and protected zoo-
cies such as Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae), a minimum of 250 specimens. The Vis maritime logical species. Its role in the maritime eco system
Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) and the zone is an area in which the Bottlenose dolphin is indispensable. Due to widespread underwater
Levantine Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan). Eleonora’s raises its young. Posidonia meadows, some of which are a couple
Falcon in particular is an important species due to of hundred and even thousands of years old, the
that fact that it is almost nowhere to be found in Posidonia — the lungs of the Mediterranean area of the Vis Archipelago is part of the ecological
eleonora’s falcon
Croatia save on its open-sea islands. The Posidonia seagreass species (Posidonia oce- network Natura 2000.
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croatia
The Vis Archipelago
— the Adriatic Blue Corridor
šolta brač
hvar
jabuka
svetac
vis
budihovac
The World Wildlife Fund, an ecological organization based in Rome, brusnik ravnik
biševo korčula
has included the Vis Archipelago in the Adriatic Blue Corridor (2003)
due to the biodiversity of its terrestrial and marine flora and fauna. pelješac
sušac lastovo mljet
The WWF provided the following explanation for their decision: “The
geographical and historical isolation are a reason for the exceptionally
heterogeneous and preserved flora and fauna both on the shore and
beneath the surface.” palagruža
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The Blue Cave
A geomorphological
monument of nature
Protected natural
areas of the Vis
Archipelago
The Blue Cave on the island Biševo
The Monk Seal Cave on the island Biševo
The island of Jabuka
The island of Brusnik
The Green Cave on the island of Ravnik
The island of Ravnik
The Stiniva Cove
The Monk Seal Cave The island of Jabuka
A geomorphological A geomorphological
monument of nature monument of nature
The eastern The Green The
coast Cave on the Stiniva
of the island Cove
Brusnik island of Ravnik A significant
A geomorphological landscape
monument
of nature
Issa
The precursor of the present-day town of Vis was
the settlement Issa, founded by Greek colonists
from Syracuse in Sicily in the early 4th century
BC. Issa was the center of urban civilization along
the eastern shores of the Adriatic – its settlers first
started to use money as means of payment, devel-
oped literacy and art and created an orderly land
registry. Their economic power was demonstrat-
ed through their expansion to the neighboring
lands and the island of Korčula where they further
artemide’s founded their colonies. The remains of Hellenis- amphorae for the transportation of wine,
head, 4th late 2nd / early 1st century bc,
tic necropoli, residential architecture and streets,
century bc archeological museum in the town of vis
theatres and Roman baths as well an many other
archeological sites, of which Artemide’s bronze
head is most notable, bear witness to the advanc-
Cultural and
ed civilizational and cultural development of this gruža and the Komižan Bay, to the eastern shore of architectural historical heritage. The port of Vis was
Adriatic polis. the Adriatic. a favorite rural getaway for nobility from the island
historical
of Hvar, who erected a number of their Renaissance
Diomedes’ Route Architectural Cultural Heritage and Baroque summer residences there. The pictur-
identity of the
The island of Vis has been the crossroads of maritime In the exceptionally heterogeneous urbanistic and esque residential and economic units from the early
routes since Antiquity. The oldest trans-Adriatic route architectural designs of the towns of Vis and Ko- modern period in Komiža were built from blocks
Vis Archipelago
was named after the Trojan hero Diomedes, who miža, always cleverly adjusted to the local topogra- carved from breccia, layered sedimentary rocks with
sailed from the Gargano Peninsula in Italy, via Pala- phy, we can find a number of prime examples of traces of sea life, which the uplift of the salt diapir
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