Classroom lesson · Music · 🇲🇪 Montenegro

Tara Canyon

One of Europe's deepest gorges, carved by a turquoise river

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Tara Canyon is a spectacular gorge in northern Montenegro carved by the Tara River over millions of years. The river has cut so deep into the rock that the canyon walls in some places rise 1,300 metres — nearly as tall as the world's tallest skyscraper. It is one of the deepest river gorges in Europe and the Tara River at the bottom is known for its remarkable turquoise colour.

Tell me more

The Tara River gets its vivid blue-green colour from the limestone it flows over. Limestone dissolves slightly in water, releasing minerals that scatter light and make the river shimmer like a jewel. The water is also extremely clean and cold, flowing down from the snowy peaks of Durmitor before it enters the canyon.

Looking down into Tara Canyon feels like looking into a different world. The forest at the top is pine and spruce. As you descend, the trees change — near the river it is warmer and wetter, so different plants grow there. Scientists call this 'vertical zonation', like having several different countries stacked on top of each other in one place.

The canyon is part of Durmitor National Park, and white-water rafting on the Tara River is one of Montenegro's most popular adventures. Rafters float through the gorge surrounded by towering walls of rock and ancient forest, spotting eagles overhead and trout darting below. A historic bridge called the Đurđevića Tara Bridge arches over the canyon — when it was built in 1940 it was one of the highest road bridges in Europe.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

01Rivers carve canyons over millions of years — one tiny grain of rock at a time. Does that make canyons feel more impressive or less impressive to you?
02The river changes the plants and animals that live at different depths of the canyon. Can you think of other places where height above sea level changes what grows?
03Would you be brave enough to raft through a canyon? What would you most want to see from your raft?

Try this

Classroom activity

Pour a thin stream of water over a block of damp sand or soil and watch the water carve a tiny channel. Let it run for a few minutes. Measure how deep your 'canyon' got. Now imagine the same thing happening for a million years — draw what your mini canyon might look like.

More about Montenegro

Other things that make Montenegro special

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