Cres

The Cres-Losinj group of islands, situated in the Kvarner Gulf, is the largest group in the Adriatic. It is made up of 36 islands, islets and reefs.
The cause underlying the formation and current appearance of the islands of the Kvarner was the transgression of the Adriatic Sea in the last 12-6 thousand years.
Some 20-30 thousand years ago the whole Kvarner underwent elevation, including northern Dalmatia and the Italian coast of the Adriatic. With the melting of the icebergs, at the end of the Ice Age, there was a rise in the level of the Adriatic Sea of about 100m, and the mountains and hills of the mainland became islands, the higher hills became smaller islands and the lower hills became underwater reefs and rocks.
Cres and Losinj, with their neighboring islands and islets, are a continuation of the Cicarija mountain range, that is, of its southern extension - Ucka. The extension of the highest part of the Ucka range can be connected with the range to the north of Cres (Sis - 638m). The southern part of the Ucka range (Sisol - 833m), via the cape of Masnjak, extends to the cape of Pernat onto the chain of hills west of the Vrana Lake (Helm - 483m), and further south to Losinj, via Osorscica (Mount Osor - Televrina - 588m), to finally end on the island of Ilovik. The extension of the hilly formation south of Labin is breifly suggested by the islands of Unije and Srakane (N. Strazicic, 1975).
Chalk limestone and dolomite of very diverse content and resistance is dominant in the geological composition of the islands. This played an essential role in the forming of the present relief. Thus a more compact and purer limestone, recognizable by its craggy and rugged rock, is located on the island of Cres near Beli, in Lubenice, and on the island of Losinj, in the mountain mass of Osorscica. The locations of impure limestone, mixed with dolomite, is where valleys were formed due to erosion. Examples of this are the valleys where the town of Cres or the settlement of Martinscica are located. Dolomites in which the greatest breakdown and erosion is taking place are located in the entire area surrounding Vrana Lake as well the entire stretch tot the southeastern point of the island of Cres. Here the coastline is very indented and forms fjords which deeply cut into the land, for example, the points of St. Dumjan and Kolorat or the deeply indented Jadriscica Bay. This phenomenon can also be seen around the port of Mali Losinj.