Deliblatska Peščara

Deliblato Sands (Deliblatska peščara; Delibláti-homokpuszta) is a large sand area covering around of ground in Vojvodina province, Serbia. It is located in southern Banat, situated between the river Danube and the southwestern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. The sands are named after the village of Deliblato, in the municipality of Kovin. Its main masses are elliptical shaped hills with steppe grassland plains and steppe forests. The Deliblato Sands is the largest sandy terrain in Europe, once part of a vast prehistoric desert, having originated from the withdrawal of the Pannonian Sea. They are home to many endemic species of plants and animals which are rare or endangered in Europe and globally. Due to its forest and surroundings, it was declared a special nature reserve. On a national level, it represents a natural asset of special importance falling under protection category I. It is referred to as the "European Sahara", or the "Old Continent's oldest desert". The Deliblato is an expanse of Aeolian processes with significant dune-like relief made of powerful sandy deposits. It is a unique feature in this part of the world as the largest exemplar of the true sandy relief. Dunes are tall. Southeast of the sands is the Kraljevac lake, one of the reservoirs formed around the edges of the region, in an effort to stop moving of the sand. There are floating peat islands on the lake's surface, where numerous waterfowls are nesting. Labudovo okno Southern section of the sands, which reaches the Danube, is known as the Labudovo Okno. It has been declared a Ramsar wetland in 2006. The section covers an area of some and includes marshes, ponds, meanders, river islands of Žilovo, Čibuklija and Zavojska Ada, meanders of the Karaš river and the submerged mouth of the Nera into the Danube. It is one of the most important migratory birds habitats in Serbia. The Deliblato Sands is rich in floral diversity, it is home to 900 different species of plants which many are considered by international standards rare or endemic to the Pannonian Basin.