The Slovak Ore Mountains ( sk, Slovenské rudohorie , hu, Gömör–Szepesi-érchegység, german: Slowakisches Erzgebirge or Zips-Gemer-Erzgebirge) are an extensive

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 ari ...

within the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

, located mostly in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

Spiš Spiš (Latin: ''Cips/Zepus/Scepus/Scepusia'', german: Zips, hu, Szepesség/Szepes, pl, Spisz) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (14 villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory ...

and Gemer region, with a small part in northern

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. It is the largest mountain range in Slovakia. Geomorphologically, the Slovak Ore Mountains belong to the

Inner Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya ...

. The mountains are bordered by

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West ...

in the west,

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of a ...

in the east, the rivers

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube Hornád Hornád ( Slovak, ) or Hernád ( Hungarian, ) is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Slaná (Sajo). The source of the Hornád is the eastern slopes of Kráľova hoľa hill, south of Šuňava. ...

in the north, and the ''Juhoslovenská kotlina'' and Košice Basin (''Košická kotlina'') in the south. The region includes the

Domica The Domica cave is situated on the south-western border of the ''Silicka planina Plateau'' south-east of Plesivec in the Rožňava District of the Košice Region in southern Slovakia and in combination with the Baradla cave represents the most ...

Cave (jaskyňa Domica), one of the largest caves in Europe, Zádiel canyon and

Krásna Hôrka Castle The Krásna Hôrka Castle ( sk, Hrad Krásna Hôrka, hu, Krasznahorka vára) is a castle in Slovakia, built on a hilltop overlooking the village of Krásnohorské Podhradie near Rožňava, in Košice Region. The first recorded mention of the c ...

Subdivision

Geomorphologically, the Slovak Ore Mountains are grouped within the

. The mountains do not have a central ridge - they consist of several independent sections, geomorphological regions:Mazúr, E., Lukniš M., 1986: ''Geomorfologické členenie SSR a ČSSR.'' Časť Slovensko. Slovenská kartografia, Bratislava *

Vepor Mountains Vepor Mountains ( sk, Veporské vrchy) are a mountain range in Slovakia, a subdivision of Erzgebirge in Spiš region. Notable features * Fabova hola * Sihlianska plateau * Balocké vrchy See also * Muránska planina National Park Muráns ...

(''Veporské vrchy'') * Spiš-Gemer Karst (''Spišsko-gemerský kras'') * Stolica Mountains (''Stolické vrchy'') * Revúca Highlands (''Revúcka vrchovina'') * Volovec Mountains (''Volovské vrchy'') * Black Mountain (''Čierna hora'') * Rožňava Basin (''Rožňavská kotlina'') *

Slovak Karst The Slovak Karst ( sk, Slovenský kras) is one of the mountain ranges of the Slovenské Rudohorie Mountains in the Carpathians in southern Slovakia. It consists of a complex of huge karst plains and plateaus. Since 1973 it has been a protected ...

(''Slovenský kras'') and

Aggtelek Karst Aggtelek Karst is a karst area in northern Hungary. The area is especially well known for its abundance of caves, which were recorded together with those in neighboring Slovakia in 1995 to the list of World Heritage Site under the name of the ...

(Hungarian: ''Aggteleki-karszt''; lies in northern

)

Characteristics

Basic data: * highest peak: Stolica, 1,476 m

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

* length: app. 140 km * width: app. 40 km * area: app. 4000 km² Since this is a very extensive geomorphological unit, no general characterization is appropriate. The geomorphological structure is varied and has

crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

and volcanic rocks. Since

time immemorial Time immemorial ( la, Ab immemorabili) is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record". The phrase is used in legally significant contexts as well as ...

, especially in the early modern period, the mountains were, as the name suggests, heavily mined but are not any more.

Protected areas

Slovenské rudohorie contains the

Muránska planina National Park Muránska planina National Park ( sk, Národný park Muránska planina) is one of the youngest national parks in Slovakia. The core area measures 21,318 ha and the protective belt 21,698 ha. It includes 14 smaller protected territories. The headq ...

Slovak Karst National Park Slovak Karst National Park (''Národný park Slovenský kras'') is a national park in the Slovak Karst (''Slovenský kras'') mountain range in South East Slovakia. It lies in the Gelnica, Rožňava and Košice–okolie districts in the Košice reg ...

and

Slovak Paradise National Park Slovak Paradise National Park ( sk, Národný park Slovenský raj) is one of the nine national parks in Slovakia, situated in East Slovakia. The National Park protects the area of the Slovak Paradise mountain range, which is located in the nort ...

References

Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians Spiš {{Slovakia-geo-stub