The Velebit Channel () is a channel in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

located between the lands at the foot of the

Velebit Velebit (; ; ) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the northwest near ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

and the islands of Pag, Rab, Goli Otok, Prvić and

Krk Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...

. It is about long, with an average width of and up to deep. It is believed some

Istro-Romanians The Istro-Romanians ( or ) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istria, Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. Howe ...

crossed the Velebit Channel and settled in the western part of the island of Krk during the second half of the 15th century, forming a community in the island that would survive until 1875, when the last speaker of the Istro-Romanian dialect of Krk, defined by some Croatian scholars as "Krko-Romanian", died. One of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

names for the Velebit Channel, ("Channel of the Morlach"), originates from these migrations.

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* {{Coord, 44, 35, N, 14, 58, E, region:HR, display=title Straits of Croatia Adriatic Sea Straits of the Mediterranean Sea Landforms of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Landforms of Lika-Senj County Landforms of Zadar County