People have always spoken of the Kornati islands with wonder, but since man has been able to see our planet from space, it is well known that both American and Soviet stronauts agree that, from that height the sea in the area around these islands is the clearest blue in the world. The Kornati islands belong to the North Dalmatian archipelago. They spread an area of 224 km2 from northwest to southeast are 35 km in length and from northeast to southwest they stretch 13 km. In that area there are 140 islands, some large, some smaller, and many rocks. Nowhere else in the world are there so many islands in such a small area. For this reason the Kornati have been called a labyrinth of land in the sea. The hundreds of islands and islets have a total land surface of 51 square kilometres, most of which is the largest island, Kornat, which has given its name to the whole group. The local name for these two chains is Donji (Lower) Kornati, the inner islands are the Gornji (Upper) Kornati The national park does not only include the islands but all the sea and the marine life, which are just as important as the land areas. All together the national park has an area of 224 square kilometres. The park was established in 1980.