Difference between revisions of "Curonian Spit" Revision as of
13:02, 28 May 2012 Stretching from Sambian peninsula in the
South to Lithuanian port city of Klaipėda in the North, the
Curonian Spit is a narrow (400 meters wide at its narrowest
point and 4 km wide at its widest) peninsula separating the
Baltic Sea from Curonian Lagoon. The northern part of the
peninsula (52 km) belongs to Lithuania, while the southern park
is in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia. It has been a UNESCO World
heritage site since 2000 and has the status of national park in
both countries. The entire spit was under German rule from circa
13th century till the First World War. While fishing was the
major occupation of the spit's inhabitants in the middle ages,
tourism has flourished in the area since the start of 20th
century. The Curonian Spit contains the largest drifting sand
dunes in Europe. The highest of them rise up to 60 meters. The
area is generally covered with forests, that constitute about 70
percent of land. Flora and fauna R