UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites in Europe

Now that I have visited all four UNESCO sites, I would like to summarize the research that I have collected throughout this trip. My first research question was why these specific sites were added to the UNESCO Natural World Heritage List. I learned that to become a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, there are four natural criteria. Each one of the sites that I researched met at least one of these criteria. These two were the most common:  "to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals" and " to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features." My second research question was: What is being done to pre

Plitvice Lakes National Park: Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. The lake park contains 16 cascading lakes that are made from rivers. The park has an upper part and a lower part. Naturally, the water flows from the upper part to the lower part over rocks, forming countless waterfalls (a staple for this park). The lake is also famous for it's distinct color which changes depending on the amounts of minerals and organisms in the water as well as the angle of the sunlight. Typically, the waters have a green or turquoise color.  One of my favorite waterfalls with the green/blue water I was staying in Zagreb and I booked a tour that would take me from Zagreb to the Park. I had a tour with my friend and another girl from France. It was so nice how private the tour was. My tour guide was fantastic as well. On the way to the park, he explained some history of Zagreb and Croatia and introduced us to the park. We also

Slovenia- Škocjan Caves These caves interested me the most when searching for which sites in Europe I should visit. Slovenia is not that far from Wien. It took me about five hours to reach Ljubljana, Slovenia (the capital) by bus. From Ljubljana, I took a train to Divaca and then took a 40 minute footpath to the caves. The cave tour lasted an hour and half. Thankfully, I already had a ticket waiting for me because of contacts I made with the cave administration. The cave tour was in English so I was able to understand everything. After the cave tour ended, I went back on the foot path to go to the train station. It started pouring down rain and my shoes and socks were soaked. To put it mildly, I was miserable. I did not arrive at my Airbnb in Ljubljana until 10:15 PM. Most importantly, I was very satisfied with my cave tour and I learned a lot from the experience.  * Unfortunately, I was not permitted to take pictures during the cave tour. The pictures used on this blog post

Slovakia- Jasovska Cave The "Caves of Aggtelek Kart and Slovak Karst" are several caves that span throughout Slovakia and Hungary. I chose to explore just the caves in Slovakia. As many natural sites are quite difficult to get to, I was only able to visit one of the caves- Jasovska Cave. The caves were formed during both tropical and glacial climates, allowing us to study the geological history of these caves from tens of millions of years. Jasovska Cave - The Jasovska Cave belongs to the Slovak Karst portion of the caves and is situated in South east Slovakia. The main entrance to the cave is on the foothill of the Jasovska Rock, 257 m above sea level. The Jasovska cave is rich in flowstone decoration and is a wintering place for bats and many other animals. The Jasovska cave contains five developmental levels, formed by the waters of the Bodva River traveling underground, creating a labyrinth of passages, halls, and domes by dissolving limestone and dolomite. The lime

The West Norwegian Fjords include the Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord and were inscribed onto UNESCO's World Heritage list on July 14, 2005. Due to time constraints, I was only able to visit the Nærøyfjord.  First, we should understand what a fjord is. According to fjords.com, " Fjords   are found in locations where current or past glaciation extended below current sea level. A fjord is formed when a   glacier   retreats, after carving its typical U-shaped valley, and the sea fills the resulting valley floor." After spending a day in Bergen, I set out on a fjord tour of the  Nærøyfjord in order to obtain answers to some of my research questions. My journey began in Bergen, taking a train from Bergen to Voss. The train ride lasted about an hour. I was floored by the sites outside my window. Norway is absolutely beautiful. Extravagant nature is everywhere and everything is so clean and pure. Normally, I am on my phone or doing Homework during a train/plane/bus ride.

A UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site is an area or landmark that has either a historical, cultural, scientific or other form of significance. These sites are selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Each site is legally protected and supported. My project focuses solely on the natural world heritage sites. To be selected as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, this site must have at least one of the four following criteria: " (1)  to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance, (2)  to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features, (3)   to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh wate