Medvednica
Medvednica is a mountain somewhat simple in its form: a central ridge and two clearly defined slopes. Descending from the central ridge are dozens of transverse ribs, and cutting deep between them are wooded stream valleys. Medvednica was created by ground extrusion between two pronounced fault lines, which is why its slopes are rather steep. Particularly interesting are the locations where, due to the pronounced incline, cliff faces appear, invariably offering wide vistas.
The Medvednica ridge extends NE-SW (vertically to the Dinarides), to a length of 42 km, separating Hrvatsko zagorje from the Prigorje region (Croatian Piedmont). Medvednica covers an area of 240 km2 and with a volume of c. 720 km3. The mountain's geological core is comprised of early igneous rock, green schist. The western part of Medvednica and the area around Horvatove stube (Horvat's Staircase) is characterized by distinct karstic features. In the vicinity of Podsused, Dolje and Stenjevec numerous fish, mollusc and sponge fossils are to be found, as well as the fossilised remains of large mammals. In some parts of the mountain, particularly in its western part around Ponikve and Bizek, there are strata of limestone in which there are caves and gullies. Most of the caves are small, one exception being Veternica - which is ranked among the largest cave complexes in the whole of Croatia. A total of 41 speleological locations are known to exist on Medvednica.
The entire Medvednica Mountain is covered with compact vegetation, mostly forests. The forests cover almost the entire mountain belt above 350 m., with a total area of 12,935 ha. (1 hectare = 2.5 acres) - the southern slope accounting for 7,586 ha, and the northern slope for 5,367 ha. Within the forested areas there are only 380 ha of clear ground (3%). The lower region of the forest belt, which extends up to 600 m. in altitude, is dominated by chestnut oak, as well as hornbeam and sweet chestnut. The central belt area is covered with beautiful beech forests while the top section is covered with a combination of beech and fir trees. As elsewhere in central Europe, beech is persistently edging out the firs, particularly on the southern slope, and today larger tracts of well preserved fir forests can be found only on the northern slope - where they descend as far down as 400 m. Of the broad-leafed evergreens, representatives of the Atlantic floral element, there is a significant presence of English holly, butcher's broom, and spurge laurel. The flora of Medvednica contains several natural rarities: yew, bear's ear (Primula auricula), leopards bane (Doronicum causasicum), coral peony ( Paeonia corallina), carniola lily (Lilium carniolicum), common bladder senna (Colutea arborescens). The latter is a distinct representative of Mediterranean flora, of which there are only about one hundred bushes to be found, near Podsusedsko Dolje.
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