The Malá Fatra National Park (Slovak: ''Národný park Malá Fatra'') is a
national park in the northern part of the
Malá Fatra mountains called Krivánska Malá Fatra.
It has an area of 226.3 km
2 (87.37 mi
2) and a 232.62 km
2 (89.81 mi
2) buffer zone. The park was declared in 1988. Between 1967 and 1988 it was a protected landscape area.
For a geological and geographical description see
Malá Fatra.
Flora
The mountain is covered mainly with mixed
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...
forests, at higher elevations with
fir and
spruce.
Pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
woods and meadows occur at higher altitudes. About 83% of the area is covered in forest.
In the variety and beauty of flora species, the following examples stand out as the most remarkable:
*
gentian (''
Gentiana clusii
''Gentiana clusii'', commonly known as flower of the sweet-lady or Clusius' gentian, is a large-flowered, short-stemmed gentian, native to Europe. It is named after Carolus Clusius, one of the earliest botanists to study alpine flora.
Descriptio ...
'')
*
auricula (''
Primula auricula
''Primula auricula'', often known as auricula, mountain cowslip or bear's ear (from the shape of its leaves), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, that grows on basic rocks in the mountain ranges of central Europe, includi ...
'')
*''
Dianthus nitidus''
*
round-leaved sundew
''Drosera rotundifolia'', the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distributi ...
(''
Drosera rotundifolia'')
*
lady's slipper orchid (''
Cypripedium calceolus
''Cypripedium calceolus'' is a lady's-slipper orchid, and the type species of the genus ''Cypripedium''. It is native to Europe and Asia.
Taxonomy
''Cypripedium'' comes from the Greek Κυπρισ πεδιον (''Kupris pedion''), meaning Ven ...
'')
Fauna
The fauna includes:
*
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos'')
*
eagle-owl
The American (North and South America) horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus ''Bubo'', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for the Eurasian eagle-owl.
This genus contains 19 species that ...
(''Bubo bubo'')
*
black stork (''Ciconia nigra'')
*
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is k ...
(''Ursus arctos'')
*
lynx (''Lynx lynx'')
*
beech marten (''Martes foina'')
*
European otter (''Lutra lutra'')
*
wildcat
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...
(''Felis silvestris'')
*
grey wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
(''Canis lupus'')
Remarkable places
*
Kryštálová jaskyňa (Crystal Cave) with
calcite decoration, located in the
Malý Rozsutec
Malý or Maly may refer to:
People
* Arturo Maly (1939–2001), Argentine actor
* Dominik Malý (born 1996), Slovak footballer
* Gerő Mály (1884–1952), Hungarian actor
* Jakub Malý (1811–1885), Czech writer
* Josef Malý (1894–1943), ...
Mountain
*the 38 metres high
Šútovo Waterfall
Šútovo is a village and municipality in Martin District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1403.
Geography
The municipality lies at an altitude of 460 metres and covers ...
*castles, such as the
Strečno Castle
The Strečno Castle ( sk, Strečniansky hrad)(also called Strechun, Strechyn, Streczen, Streczan alebo Strežín) is a reconstructed ruin of a medieval castle of an irregular plan located in northern Slovakia, 12 km east of Žilina. The castl ...
and
Starhrad
*traditional architecture: Štefanová and Podšíp settlements
*Slovak folklore centres, such as the village of
Terchová
Terchová ( hu, Terhely) is a large village and municipality (population 4,073) in the Malá Fatra mountains in the Žilina District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.
Names and etymology
In the 16th century, the village was known as ''K ...
*Jánošíkove diery (trans:
Janosik holes) - system of gorges and canyons
See also
*
Protected areas of Slovakia
External links
Malá Fatra National Parka
Slovakia.travel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mala Fatra
National parks of Slovakia
Protected areas established in 1988
Protected areas of the Western Carpathians
Tourist attractions in Žilina Region
Geography of Žilina Region