Composed of 147 mostly uninhabited islands, islets and reefs covering 69 sq km, some of which are a national park, the Kornatis are the largest and densest archipelago in the Adriatic. Typically karst terrain, the islands are riddled with cracks, caves, grottoes and rugged cliffs. Since there are no sources of freshwater on the islands, they are mostly barren, sometimes with a light covering of grass. The evergreens and holm oaks that used to be found here were long ago burned down. Far from stripping the islands of their beauty, the deforestation has highlighted startling rock formations, whose stark whiteness against the deep blue Adriatic is an eerie and wonderful sight.
The Kornati Islands form four groups running northwest to southeast. The first two groups of islands lie closer to the mainland and are known locally as Gornji Kornat . The largest of these islands is Žut .
The other two series of islands, facing the open sea, comprise the Kornati National Park and have the most dramatically rugged coastline. Kornat Island is by far the largest island in the park, extending 25km in length but only 2.5km in width. Both the land and sea are within the protection of the national park. Fishing is strictly limited in order to allow the regeneration of fish shoals. Groper, bass, conger eel, sea bream, pickerel, sea scorpion, cuttlefish, squid, octopus and smelt are some of the sea life trying to make a comeback in the region.
The island of Piškera , also within Kornati National Park, was inhabited during the Middle Ages and served as a fishing collection and storage point. Until the 19th century, the islands were owned by the aristocracy of Zadar, but about a hundred years ago peasant ancestors of the present residents of Murter and Dugi Otok bought the islands, built many kilometres of rock walls to divide their properties and used the land to raise sheep.
The islands remain privately owned: 90% belong to Murter residents and the remainder to residents of Dugi Otok. Although there are no longer any permanent inhabitants on the islands, many owners have cottages and fields that they visit from time to time to tend the land, and there are houses to rent. Olive trees account for about 80% of the land under cultivation, followed by vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens. There are about 300 buildings on the Kornati Islands, mostly clustered on the southwestern coast of Kornat.
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