Plitvice Lakes is the oldest and largest national park in the Republic of Croatia. The process of tufa formation, which results in the building of the tufa, or travertine, barriers and resulted in the creation of the lakes, is the outstanding universal value, for which the Plitvice Lakes were internationally recognised on 26 October 1979 with their inscription onto the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The lake system is comprised of 16 named and several smaller unnamed lakes, cascading one into the next.