Greater Fatra

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*Greater Fatra (Veľká Fatra)*
Typical terrain of the Hôľna Fatra
Country	Slovakia
Regions	Žilina, Banská Bystrica
Districts	Martin, Ružomberok, Turčianske Teplice, Banská Bystrica
Part of	Western Carpathians
Borders on	Lesser Fatra, Turiec Basin, Žiar, Kremnické vrchy, Low Tatra, Chočské vrchy
Length	40 km (25 mi), NE-SW
Width	20 km (12 mi), NW-SE
Highest point	Ostredok
- coordinates	48°54′6.2″N, 19°04′44″E
- elevation	1,592 m (5,223 ft)
Location of the Greater Fatra in Slovakia

Typical rocks of the Bralná Fatra

Greater Fatra or Great Fatra (Slovak: Veľká Fatra) is a mountain range in the Western Carpathians in Slovakia. In the geomorphological system, it is a part of the Fatra-Tatra Area. It is situated approximately among the towns of Ružomberok, Harmanec, Turčianske Teplice and Martin. The Turiec Basin and the Lesser Fatra mountains are situated to the West of the range and the Low Tatra mountains are in the East. It can be divided into 7 parts: Šípska Fatra, Šiprúň, Lysec, Hôľna Fatra, Revúcke podolie, Zvolen and Bralná Fatra.

The highest mountain is Ostredok, 1,592.0 m (5,223.1 ft). Other important mountains of the largest Hôľna Fatra part are Krížna ,1,574.3 m (5,165 ft), and Ploská, 1,532.1 m (5,026.6 ft), where the main ridge divides into two ridges, western Turiec Ridge (Slovak: Turčiansky hrebeň) with e.g. Borišov, 1,509.5 m (4,952.4 ft), and eastern Liptov Ridge (Slovak: Liptovský hrebeň) with e.g. Rakytov, 1,567.0 m (5,141.1 ft). In the Bralná Fatra are the picturesque Tlstá, 1,373.3 m (4,505.6 ft), and Ostrá, 1,247.0 m (4,091.2 ft), mountains. Zvolen massif, 1,402.5 m (4,601.4 ft), connects the Greater Fatra with the Low Tatra, one of the largest Slovak ski resorts of Donovaly lies beneath it. Rugged Šíp 1,169.5 m (3,836.9 ft) lies across the Váh River.

A considerable part of the range is made of various Mesozoic rocks. The central part and the main ridge are made up of non-resistant rocks (slates) and the relief is softly modelled (Ploská, Ostredok). The southern and south-western part is formed by resistant limestone and dolomite with rocky walls and reefs. The ridges are usually separated by canyon-like valleys, the most important of which are Gaderská dolina and Blatnická dolina. The longest valley is the Ľubochnianska dolina valley (25 km). Numerous karst formations occur in this area, the best known of them is the Harmanec Cave.

Nearly 90% of the area is covered by forests – beech and beech-fir forests, in some places replaced by spruce plantations and relics of pines. The area of Harmanec is the richest yew-tree site in Europe. The original natural upper borderline of forests was lowered during the Wallachian colonization. There are many extensive upland pastures used where cattle is raised in the summer. Most of the area has been protected, formerly as the Veľká Fatra Landscape Protected Area, since 2002 the most valuable parts were included in the Veľká Fatra National Park, the rest of the former Landscape Protected Area serving as its protective zone..

There are several tourist and skiing centers in the range. One of the best known Slovak ski centers Donovaly, is situated right at the border with the Low Tatras mountains.

Regarding the cultural values of this area, the ruins of Blatnický and Sklabinský castles may be of an interest for those who visit them. Also, the folk architecture of Vlkolínec (a UNESCO's World Heritage Site) and Liptovské Revúce and the well-known spas Ľubochňa and Turčianske Teplice can be found here.