Plitvice Lakes — Upper Cascade Turquoise System
203.80 £
The Upper Lakes system of Plitvice National Park in Croatia — terraced travertine barriers creating a descending staircase of turquoise and emerald pools connected by white-water cascades through a beech and hornbeam forest.
Description
Plitvice’s travertine barriers — built by calcium carbonate precipitation from the limestone-saturated water — create a naturally terraced series of 16 lakes that descend 133 metres through a canyon of Dinaric limestone. The colour of the water varies from turquoise to emerald to grey depending on the microorganism and mineral content of each pool, a variation that becomes most pronounced in early morning before visitors disturb the surface. This image was made from the narrow wooden walkway that passes directly over the cascade system at the Upper Lakes, looking downstream along the terraced pools with a 16-35mm zoom at f/8. The 1/4-second exposure softens the cascade water while retaining the detail of the travertine barriers below and the autumn beech canopy above. No visitors are visible — the image was made at first light before the park opens.
