Pohorje (), also known as the Pohorje Massif or the Pohorje Mountains (german: Bachergebirge, ''Bacherngebirge'' or often simply ''Bachern''), is a mostly wooded, medium-high

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

south of the Drava River in northeastern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. According to the traditional AVE classification it belongs to the

Southern Limestone Alps The Southern Limestone Alps ( it, Alpi Sud-orientali, german: Südliche Kalkalpen), also called the Southern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacen ...

. Geologically, it forms part of the

Central Alps The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and possibly Hungary (if one includes the Kőszeg Mountains). This article describes the d ...

and features silicate

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

and

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...

. Pohorje is sparsely populated with dispersed villages. There are also some ski resorts.

Geography

Pohorje is an

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

mountain ridge with domed summits south of the Drava. It roughly lies in the triangle formed by the towns of Maribor (to the east),

Dravograd Dravograd (; german: Unterdrauburg) is a small town in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It is the seat of the Municipality of Dravograd. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It i ...

(to the west) and

Slovenske Konjice Slovenske Konjice ( or ; german: Gonobitz, in older sources also ''Gannobitz'') is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Slovenske Konjice. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. History and town s ...

(to the south). To the northwest, it is bounded by the Mislinja River, to the south by the Vitanje Lowlands (), to the east it descends to the Drava Plain () and to the southeast it descends to the Pohorje Foothills (). It measures about from east to west and from north to south and covers an area of ca. . Its highest elevations are Black Peak ( sl, Črni Vrh, german: Schwarzkogel) , the only slightly lower Big Kopa Peak (), and Lake Peak (), which rises to . Forests cover over 70% of its surface.

Geology

Pohorje is a young mountain

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

and is the southeasternmost part of the

. It is the only mountain chain in Slovenia made of silicate rock. Its peripheral parts consist of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

, and its central parts of

, particularly

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gr ...

(known also as the Pohorje tonalite) and

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite ...

. Near the village of

Cezlak Cezlak () is a small settlement on the southern slope of the Pohorje range in the Municipality of Slovenska Bistrica in northeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipa ...

lies probably the only known deposit of cizlakite (quartz monzogabbro; a green

plutonic rock Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form '' intrusions'', such as batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: March ...

). The southern parts of Pohorje are known for

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

, which was quarried in Roman times.

Pohorje ski resorts

The following ski resorts stand at Pohorje: *

Rogla Ski Resort Rogla Ski Resort is a Slovenian ski resort opened in 1975 at Rogla, Zreče, located at the top of the Zreče Pohorje range and regularly the most or second most visited Slovenian ski resort, with over 200,000 skiers per season and capacity of 1 ...

Kope–Ribnica Pohorje Ski Resort Kope–Ribnica Pohorje Ski Resort ( sl, Smučišče Kope–Ribniško Pohorje) is a joined Slovenian ski resort located in western part of Pohorje mountain in municipality of Slovenj Gradec and Ribnica na Pohorju Ribnica na Pohorju () is a set ...

Maribor Pohorje Ski Resort Maribor Pohorje Ski Resort ( sl, Smučišče Mariborsko Pohorje) is the largest ski resort in Slovenia, located just south of Maribor, at the mountain range of Pohorje in Lower Styria. The resort consists of three sections: lower section "''Sn ...

Trije Kralji Ski Resort Trije Kralji Ski Resort is a Slovenian family ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous ...

Radio towers

Near hilltops within the mountain range are located a TV and radio transmitter Pohorje and a military air-traffic control radar station RP-2.

References

External links

*
Pohorje
Tourist Information Centre Maribor. {{Authority control Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Slovenia Southern Limestone Alps Natura 2000 in Slovenia