Dubrovnik-Neretva County

The Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija (Dubrovnik-Neretva County) is the southernmost county of Croatia. It is not only the southernmost tip of Croatia, it is also the southernmost tip of Dalmatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik, other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče. The county is narrow and long, along the Mediterranean coast, and it includes several islands, the most important are Korčula, Lastovo, Mljet, Šipan, Lopud and Koločep. As a result of the Balkan War in the 1990s, the country is split into two parts, separated by a corridor which is 9 km wide, which belongs to Bosnia Herzegowina. The southern part with the city Dubrovnik is theoretically an exclave because it is disconnected from mainland Croatia. On the other side the same applies to the islands, and more important, there is a road connecting the two parts. This is another weird detail of the border, the 60 km long Pelješac peninsula, protruding from the southern part to the north, parallel to the coast, allowed the construction of the Pelješac Bridge.

The county has a lot of limestone mountain ridges which are karstified, so there are many caves. This includes the islands. The northern part of the Mljet island is the Mljet National Park, and the Lastovo archipelago is a designated nature park. The northern part of the county includes the Neretva Delta and the Baćina lakes, not a good place for caves.