Baba Mountain (Macedonia)
Baba Mountain (Macedonian: Баба Планина/Baba Planina, Greek: Βαρνούς/Varnous), or also known by the name of its highest peak, Pelister or Peristeri (meaning pigeon in Greek), is a mountain massif between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. The Pelister (or Peristeri) peak (2601 metres, or 8533 feet) overlooks the city of Bitola. Baba Mountain is the third highest mountain in the Republic of Macedonia and the fifteenth highest mountain in Greece. Other peaks besides Pelister are Dva Groba (2514 metres), Veternica (2420 metres), Muza (2350 metres), Rzana (2334 meters), Shiroka (2218 metres), Kozji Kamen (2199 metres), Griva (2198 metres) and Golema Chuka (2188 metres) in the Republic of Macedonia, and Belavoda (2.179 meters), Kirko (2.155 meters) and Kotsypha (2.065 meters) in Greece. The Baba massif splits up the rivers in the region, so that they either flow towards the Adriatic or the Aegean sea.
Pelister National Park's flora include the five-needle pine molica (Pinus peuce) - a unique species of tertiary age being present on only a few mountains in the Balkan Peninsula. Fauna in the area include: bears, roe deer, wolves, chamois, deer, wild boars, rabbits, several species of eagles, partridges, redbilled jackdaws, and the endemic Macedonian Pelagonia trout.
