Geographically the Kornati islands can be divided into two main groups - the Gornji Kornati or Upper Kornati, closer to the mainland, and the Donji Kornati or Lower Kornati, which are mostly facing the open sea in the southwest.
The islands known as Gornji Kornati include the northernmost island of Sit and the surrounding islets, divided by a channel from Žut and its surrounding islets to the south.