Dalmatia, a region of Croatia, is a long, narrow strip of land extending over 200 miles (320 kilometers) along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. The Dalmatian coast is deeply indented and fringed with hundreds of islands.
Dalmatia lies in the Dinaric Alps. The chief rivers are the Neretva and the Krka. They flow into the Adriatic Sea. The most important cities are Split, Dubrovnik, Sibenik, and Zadar.
Most of the people are of Croatian descent, but a few people of Italian background also live there. Tourism is Dalmatia’s main industry. Each year, millions of people flock to the warm, sunny Dalmatian coast for such activities as boating, swimming, and sunbathing. Cherries, grapes, olives, and other fruits are grown in valleys near the coast.
Dalmatia was once part of the ancient kingdom of Illyria. The Romans conquered Dalmatia in the 200’s B.C. Later, between the A.D. 600’s and 1400’s, the Slavs invaded Dalmatia. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the Great Powers of Europe gave Dalmatia to Austria. In 1918, after World War I ended, Dalmatia became part of Yugoslavia. In 1991, Croatia became an independent country.
