Geographically the Kornati islands can be divided into two main groups - the Gornji Kornati or Upper Kornati, closer to the mainland, and the Donji Kornati or Lower Kornati, which are mostly facing the open sea in the southwest. The islands known as Gornji Kornati include the northernmost island of Sit and the surrounding islets, divided by a channel from Žut and its surrounding islets to the south. Žut is the largest and most indented of these islands.
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The islands include 48 permanently inhabited ones, the most populous among them being Krk and Korčula. The shore is the most indented coastline in the Mediterranean. The majority of the coast is characterised by a karst topography, developed from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform. Karstification there largely began after the final uplift of the Dinarides in the Oligocene and the Miocene, when carbonate deposits were exposed to atmospheric effects, extending to the level of below present sea level, exposed during the Last Glacial Maximum.
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The Dinaric Alps contain the highest mountain in Croatia— Dinara—as well as all other mountains in Croatia higher than . Croatia's Adriatic Sea mainland coast is long, while its 1,246 islands and islets encompass a further of coastline—the most indented coastline in the Mediterranean. Karst topography makes up about half of Croatia and is especially prominent in the Dinaric Alps, as well as throughout the coastal areas and the islands. 62% of Croatia's territory is encompassed by the Black Sea drainage basin.
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The island of Pag has a long tradition of cheese making and agriculture and is the most indented island in the Adriatic, which provides perfect conditions for making cheese. The island of Pag's eastern landscape is dominated by the mountain range on the mainland, Velebit. It is on these snowy peaks that hot and cold air amasses, and particularly in winter, gives birth to the Pag Bora. A strong, cool, dry wind that gathers strength as it tumbles down the southern slopes of Velebit onto the calm seas.
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The islands include 47 permanently inhabited ones, the most populous among them being Krk and Korčula. The shore is the most indented coastline in the Mediterranean. The majority of the coast is characterised by a karst topography, developed from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform. Karstification there largely began after the final raising of the Dinarides in the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, when carbonate rock was exposed to atmospheric effects such as rain; this extended to below the present sea level, exposed during the Last Glacial Maximum's sea level drop.
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The plains are interspersed by the horst and graben structures, believed to break the Pannonian Sea surface as islands. The greatest concentration of ground at relatively high elevations is found in Lika and Gorski Kotar areas in the Dinaric Alps, but such areas are found in all regions of Croatia to some extent. The Dinaric Alps contain the highest mountain in Croatia-- Dinara, as well as all other mountains in Croatia higher than . Croatia's Adriatic Sea mainland coast is long, while its 1,246 islands and islets encompass further of coastline--the most indented coastline in the Mediterranean.
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Pebble beach at Brač island, in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia The eastern Adriatic shore's Croatian part is the most indented Mediterranean coastline. Most of the eastern coast is characterised by a karst topography, developed from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform's exposure to weathering. Karstification there largely began after the Dinarides' final uplift in the Oligocene and the Miocene, when carbonate deposits were exposed to atmospheric effects; this extended to the level of below the present sea level, exposed during the Last Glacial Maximum. It is estimated that some karst formations are from earlier sea level drops, most notably the Messinian salinity crisis.
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