Key Information
Plitvice Lakes
| Type | Lake System |
| Area (of Park) | 114.61 square miles |
| Total Lakes | 16 major lakes |
Learning Point
- Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is a mind-blowing natural wonder featuring sixteen terraced lakes stacked like a giant, vibrant water staircase. Connected by endless cascading waterfalls, the water constantly shifts colors from bright turquoise to deep emerald green depending on the sunlight. What makes it truly unique is that it’s a living landscape: minerals in the water combine with moss and algae to build growing rock dams called tufa barriers, meaning the scenery is literally rewriting and shaping itself year after year.
Project
- Draw a picture of the Plitvice Lakes and your family visiting them.
- Overview
- Cross Section & Map
Location
| Location | Lika-Senj County, Karlovac County, Croatia |
Fun Facts
- Instead of just one big lake, Plitvice has 16 terraced lakes stacked on top of each other like giant green-and-blue steps, with water spilling down waterfalls from one to the next!
- The park is built out of a special rock called tufa (or travertine) created by minerals and moss. Because of this, the natural dams and waterfalls are growing up to 13 millimeters taller every single year!
- The name Plitvice comes from the Croatian word plitko, which means “shallow”—named after the shallow pools that formed naturally over centuries.
- The special chemical process that builds these gorgeous stone lakes only started working about 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, making the whole park a relatively young geological wonder!
Past Lessons
| 216 | September 28, 2026 | (North America) |