Krka National Park, in addition to beautiful waterfalls and nature in general, as well as cultural and historical sights, also hides numerous caves, and along the Krka and Čikola rivers is interesting underground world.
And while the world is facing a major extinction of species, Krka National Park is being preserved diversity of animal species on which humanity depends. Krka is ranked among the most valuable natural entities in Croatia, as well as in Europe.
The next time you visit Krka National Park, if you haven't already, familiarize yourself with its underground world.
///Krka National Park is home to a large number of endemic, rare and endangered animal species
Old pit
The old jametina is located on the left bank of the Čikola river above Punčka draga at an altitude of 200 meters. The cave is overgrown with dense vegetation, it has two entrances, similar to sinkholes, cave and pit, both of which lead to the entrance hall. Although it is called jametina in its name, given the average slope of the channel, according to the speleological classification, this object is considered a cave. It is almost completely passable without the use of speleological techniques, with the exception of only one four-meter vertical.
The cave is characterized by large spaces separated from each other by narrow channels, so it is naturally divided into four units, i.e. halls. It is decorated with beautiful stalagmites. The average air temperature in the entire facility is 11,9 °C, but when excluding the entrance hall, which is highly susceptible to the influence of external weather conditions, the average air temperature is 12,4 °C.
The total is recorded more than fifty species of animals among which are a large number of endemic taxa of the Dinarides and Croatia. The cave also houses Verhoeffiella margusi, a troglobiont species of springbok that is endemic to the Krka National Park.
Do you know which is the deepest speleological object in the Krka National Park?
The old cave is a branched speleological object, explored at a length of 188 and a depth of 85 meters. Narrow cracks prevent further progress. The cave is characterized by large spaces separated by narrow channels, so it is naturally divided into four parts, or halls. It is adorned with beautiful stalagmites.
A walled cave
The only cave in Krka National Park open for visiting it is located at the very top of the Krka river canyon cliff above the Roško waterfall. The cave is 59 meters long, and consists of a channel 5 to 10 meters wide and two almost vertical channels, i.e. chimneys that do not reach the surface. It got its name from the drywall at the entrance. Considering the morphology, external weather conditions have a significant influence on the microclimate of the cave, which is manifested in the drop in humidity and the rise in air temperature in the cave in the warm periods of the year.
The average air temperature in the cave in a place outside the visitor path, which is not exposed to lighting, is about 16° C, and the average relative humidity is about 95,5%. The cave is mostly dry even during the heaviest rains, only in a few places is digging visible, which forms smaller tubular stalactites and salves on the ceiling, and spilled stalagmites on the floor.
A total of Ozidjana Cave has been identified 36 different taxa of invertebrates, which belong to as many as nineteen higher systematic categories, and bats also live in the cave. The cave is arranged for visitors as part of the Stinice - Roški slap - Oziđana cave educational hiking trail.
Jazinka cave
The Jazinka cave is located in the canyon downstream from the Nečven fort, at an altitude of 216 meters. The morphology of the cave is simple. It is 42 meters long, four meters deep, and the vertical difference is 12 meters. After the low entrance, a hall opens, which continues into a 12,5-meter-long paved canal. Seasonal changes affect the entrance part the most, which is expected for a cave of this morphology. In the part of the cave farthest from the entrance, real cave conditions prevail, characterized by a constant air temperature, with an average value of around XNUMX°C.
In the front part of the cave, fragments of various ceramic vessels from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, animal bones, a bronze arrow, a bronze fibula, a twisted bronze torkves with a chain were found. In the deepest part of the cave, human bones, beads made of glass paste, a bronze pendant with spectacles, a hook and bronze needles were found. The front part of the cave was probably used for living, and the back part for burying the deceased.
In the Jazinka cave, the total is recorded 29 species of animals. Among them are a large number of endemic taxa of the Dinarides and Croatia. The Jazinka cave is the type locality for the troglobiont species Verhoeffiella margusi, a stenoendema of the Krka National Park.
The walled cave and Jazinka hid rich archeological sites
Ozidjana cave and Jazinka are two impressive caves on the left bank of the Krka. In addition to speleological features, they are also interesting for their archaeological sites.
Oziđana Pečina and Jazinka are just two of the hundreds of caves and pits located along the Krka River. There are about forty of them in the area of the Krka National Park.
