national park in North Macedonia
Mavrovo National Park (Macedonian: Национален парк Маврово) is the largest of the four national parks of North Macedonia, within the borders of the municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuse. Located in the west of the country, it spreads over an area of about 780 km2 (300 square miles) and is characterized by deep canyons, lakes, and dense forests that abound with diverse wildlife. It was established in 1949 by a law passed by the National Assembly of Socialist Republic of Macedonia; later the legislation was changed to enforce a much stricter protection system, dividing the park into three zones: strict nature reserves, managed reserves, and a tourist zone. The relief of the park contains three Alpine mountain systems: the Šar, Korab and Bistra mountains. The Šar and Korab exceed heights of 2700 m (the Korab peak, with its 2764 m, is the highest in North Macedonia). These mountains are distinguished by chains of snowy, jagged peaks and broad grassy plateaus below them. Between the three mountains extends the Radika gorge for more than 25 km (16 miles). Vertical cliffs exceeding 300 m (980 feet) rise above the waters of the Radika river. The park area contains other interesting natural phenomena—the highest waterfall in the Balkans (with a vertical fall of approximately 120 m), alpine bogs in the Šar mountains as remnants of the Ice age, rare karst relief (including beautiful caves) in the Bistra mountains, as well as numerous glacial lakes throughout the Alpine zone. The national park, the lake, and the region are named after the village of Mavrovo.
