Western Romanian Carpathians

The Western Romanian Carpathians (Romanian: Carpații Occidentali Românești, Hungarian: Nyugati-Kárpátok), along with the Eastern Romanian Carpathians and the Southern Carpathians is one of the three main mountain ranges of Romania.[1] Their name is given based on their geographical position, west, to the Transylvanian Plateau, which is simultaneously their eastern limits, respectively to the Timiș-Cerna Gap of the Banat Mountains, the southern group of the Western Carpathians.

Western Carpathians
Romanian: Carpații Occidentali
Vulcan Mountain in Apuseni Mountains
Highest point
Elevation1,849 m (6,066 ft)
Coordinates46°30′N 23°00′E / 46.5°N 23.0°E / 46.5; 23.0
Geography
The map shows the three groups in western Romania: the northern group of the Apuseni Mountains, the central group - Poiana Ruscă Mountains and the southern group - Banat Mountains
CountryRomania
Parent rangeCarpathians
Geology
OrogenyAlpine orogeny

The Western Carpathians are positioned between the rivers Danube, Barcău and Someș. They have a maximum elevation of 1849 m in the Bihor Mountains, Cucurbăta Mare Peak (Hungarian: Nagy-Bihar) - 1849 metres, also called Bihor Peak. Discontinuity is one of their basic characteristics. Geographical composition is varied, with a real "petrographic mosaic". (flysch, crystalline schists, limestones, igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks)

Mountain ranges

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From north to south, three major mountain groups can be identified, separated by different river valleys.

There are 18 subgroups in total.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hurdu, Bogdan Iuliu; Pușcaș, Mihai; Turtureanu, Pavel Dan; Niketić, Marjan; Coldea, Gheorghe; Zimmermann, Niklaus (2012). "Patterns of Plant Endemism in the Romanian Carpathians (South-Eastern Carpathians)". Contribuții Botanice. XLVII: 25–38.
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  Media related to Romanian Western Carpathians at Wikimedia Commons