Classroom lesson · Una National Park · 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Una National Park

Cascading emerald waterfalls and crystal-clear rivers in the northwest

The turquoise stepped waterfalls of the Una River rushing through green forest

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Una National Park is named after the Una River, which rushes through it in a series of sparkling green and turquoise waterfalls. The water is so clear you can see every pebble on the riverbed from the surface. The park is in the northwest corner of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is home to some of the most beautiful river scenery in all of Europe.

Tell me more

The Una River gets its name from the Latin word for 'one' — people long ago thought it was simply one of a kind. And it really does look like nothing else. Minerals dissolved in the water give it a vivid turquoise-green colour that changes shade depending on the season, the sunlight, and how fast the river is flowing.

The park's most spectacular sight is the Štrbački Buk waterfall, where the Una cascades in wide steps over rocky shelves draped in bright green moss. The waterfall is about 24 metres tall and spreads nearly 120 metres across — making it one of the widest waterfalls in Europe. Standing near it, you feel a gentle cool mist on your face even on a hot summer day.

The forests around the river are thick and ancient, filled with oak, beech, and silver fir trees. Otters, brown trout, and rare Huchen fish (a type of giant salmon-like fish sometimes called the 'river tiger') live in the Una's cold, oxygen-rich waters. The forest shelters roe deer, wild boar, and many kinds of owl.

In summer, the park is popular for white-water rafting on the wilder sections of the river, kayaking on the gentler stretches, and swimming in the naturally formed rock pools. In autumn, the surrounding forest turns brilliant shades of orange, red, and gold.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

01The Una gets its vivid colour from minerals in the water. What other natural things get their colours from chemicals? (Think of flamingos or autumn leaves.)
02Why do you think national parks have rules about what people can and cannot do inside them?
03If you could spend a day in Una National Park, would you choose rafting, swimming, or walking through the forest? Why?

Try this

Classroom activity

Using watercolour or coloured pencils, paint a river scene. Make the water look as clear and colourful as possible. Then write three rules you would put on a sign at the entrance to a national park to help protect it.

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