Gorski Kotar - Geography

Geography

The region is divided between Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and Karlovac County. The majority of the region lies in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County including the cities of Delnice, Čabar, Vrbovsko; and the municipalities of Mrkopalj, Ravna Gora, Skrad, Brod na Kupi, Fužine and Lokve. The part of the region that is in Karlovac County contains the Municipality of Bosiljevo and part of the City of Ogulin. With a population of 4454, Delnice is the largest city of the region and its center. Other centers with populations of more than 1,000 are Vrbovsko (1,900) and Ravna Gora (1,900). Begovo Razdolje, the highest town in Croatia, is located in Gorski kotar at an altitude of 1076 m.

The population density of Gorski kotar is low, but the highest in Mountainous Croatia. As of 2001, about 28,000 people were living in an area of about 1300 square kilometers, which is about 22 people per square kilometer. Linguistically, the region is very diverse; in a relatively small area, all three Croatian dialects can be heard. Also, in some parts of Gorski kotar there is a considerable Serb community, especially in the city of Vrbovsko where they constitute 36% of the population.

Geomorphically Gorski kotar is on the karstic plateau about 35 km and has an average altitude of 800 m. The highest point is Bjelolasica at 1534 m followed by Risnjak at 1528 m. The plateau is a climatic barrier between the littoral and continental parts of the country. The border with the Kvarner region is defined by the divide between the drainage basins of the Black Sea and of the Adriatic Sea. Its southern border with Lika is not clearly defined but most scholars consider it to be the Jasenak – Novi Vinodolski road and people of Jasenak consider themselves to be somewhere between Gorski kotar and Lika. To the north, the Kupa river is the border between Gorski kotar and Slovenia's Bela Krajina region.