Dalmatia (Croatian : Dalmacija, Italian: Dalmazia) is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Gulf of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) in the southeast. The hinterland, Inner Dalmatia (Zagora), ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north but narrows to just a few kilometers wide in the south.
Croatian Dalmatia is currently composed of four counties, the capital cities of which are Zadar, Šibenik, Split and Dubrovnik. Other larger cities in Dalmatia include Biograd, Kaštela, Sinj, Solin, Omiš, Knin, Metković, Makarska, Trogir, Ploče, Trilj and Imotski.The larger Dalmatian islands are Dugi Otok, Ugljan, Pašman, Brač, Hvar, Korčula, Vis, Lastovo and Mljet. The larger Dalmatian mountains are Dinara, Mosor, Svilaja, Biokovo, Moseć and Kozjak. The rivers are Zrmanja, Krka, Cetina and Neretva.
Because of the way sea currents and winds flow, the sea water of the Adriatic is cleaner and warmer on the Croatian side than it is on the Italian side.The Dalmatian concordant coastline also includes an immense number of coves, islands and channels. This makes it an attractive place for nautical races, and nautical tourism in general. There's also a good number of marinas. Dalmatia also includes several national parks that are tourist attractions: Paklenica karst river, Kornati archipelago, Krka river rapids and Mljet island within island.
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