| Biokovo | |
|---|---|
 Biokovo withMakarska riviera | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,762 m (5,781 ft) |
| Prominence | 1,168 m (3,832 ft)[1] |
| Listing | Ribu |
| Coordinates | 43°20′N17°03′E / 43.333°N 17.050°E /43.333; 17.050 |
| Geography | |
  Biokovo Location of Biokovo in Croatia | |
 | |
| Location | Dalmatia,Croatia |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Limestone |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | road |
Biokovo (pronounced[bîɔkɔʋɔ]) is the second-highest mountain range inCroatia, located along theDalmatian coast of theAdriatic Sea, between the rivers ofCetina andNeretva.
It is sometimes referred to asBijakova, especially among inhabitants of the eastern side of the mountain. Its highest peak isSveti Jure (Saint George), at 1762m.a.s.l.[2] It shows a typicalkarst landscape. Atop the peak there is a powerfulFM andDVB-T transmitter.
The 196 km2 of its area is protected as anature park with over 1,500 plant and animal species, some of which areendemic.[3]
Biokovo also includes the separate ridge and peakSveti Ilija (Saint Elijah) at 1,642 m or 5,387 ft.[4]
Biokovo is one in a line ofDinaric Alps stretching along the Dalmatian coast - northwest of it isMosor and southeast areSutvid andRilić. To the east, theŠibenik runs in parallel. When the weather is very clear, from the top of Biokovo it is possible to seeMonte Gargano in Italy, which is 252 km (157 mi) away.[5]
Zabiokovlje, a mountainous area in Biokovo, includes such townlets and villages as Gornja Brela,Zadvarje,Žeževica, Grabovac, Rastovac,Zagvozd,Župa, Rašćane andKozica. Major economic activities there were cattle raising, grape growing, and hunting. Part of this area is in the Biokovo Nature Park. To aid hikers, theBiokovo Nature Park Visitor Center is in downtown Makarska.
However, Biokovo can be perilous if hiking unprepared - tourists erroneously imagine peaks to be closer than they are and, oblivious to the danger, have been known to go hiking wearing flip-flops, without water, wearing shirts with military camouflage patterns making them harder to spot forsearch and rescue teams. From 1976 to 2007, 24 hikers have died on Biokovo, while 37 had to be rescued.[6]
Biokovo is a typicalkarstic mountain composed oflimestones,dolomites,breccias, andflysch.
The mountain has more than 400 identifiedspeleological objects. Notable speleological objects are:
Sveti Jure has recently found itself included as a climb in professional road bicycle races. It was visited for the first time onthe second stage of the 2017 Tour of Croatia. However, due to bad weather the race organisers decided to shorten the stage in accordance with the UCI Extreme weather protocol. The final route was shortened by 15,2 km, moving the finish line down to Vrata Biokova on an altitude of 820 meters.[13]
The stage was won by Croatian riderKristijan Đurasek of the teamUAE Team Emirates, outsprintingJaime Rosón (Caja Rural–Seguros RGA) with eventual general classification winnerVincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) finishing third, three seconds down.[14]
The climb was revisited at the 2018 Tour of Croatia,where it was included as a 28 km long climb serving as summit finish on the third stage, which was dubbed as thequeen stage of that year's edition. The stage was won byBelarusian riderKanstantsin Siutsou riding for Team Bahrain-Merida, after 75 minutes of climbing.[15][16]
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