Kalkalpen National Park in Austria
Rating: 7,5/10 (100 votes)  The Kalkalpen National Park is located in the federal state of Upper Austria. The area of the park is 21,000 hectares. Its land is located in the foothills of the Alps and extends to the Alpine peaks. Kalkalpen Park was established in 1997 with the aim of preserving forests. Forests located on the territory of the park are quite ancient and occupy 4/5 of the entire area of the reserve. About 30 different types of forests are registered here. The most common trees are beech, spruce and fir. The landscape of the national park is based on a huge number of streams, springs, pastures and alpine meadows. There are about 800 known sources located in the park, and the total length of streams and rivers is about 200 kilometers. Due to the erosion of rocks by stormy water flows, in some regions of the park a new type of relief has been formed for the reserve - karst caves. They are very popular with tourists. More than 850 flowering plants, ferns and mosses and other types of vegetation grow in the park. 59 plant species are included in the Austrian Federal Nature Protection List. The fauna of the park is very diverse. 1600 species of butterflies and more than 100 species of birds have been recorded in the park. The owl is considered the symbol of the park. The largest inhabitants of the reserve are brown bears and lynxes. The park administration pays special attention to the recreation of the livestock of traditional, but currently rare domestic animals – such as cows of the Murbodener breed and Norik horses. Cycling, horseback riding and hiking, interesting excursions to the karst caves are offered for guests of the national park.  We also recommend reading Riggersburg Castle in Austria Topic: Kalkalpen National Park in Austria. |
