The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
in central
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
, and is almost entirely surrounded by the
Eastern,
Southern
Southern may refer to:
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and
Romanian Western branches of 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 ...
. The area includes the
Transylvanian Plain
The Transylvanian Plain ( ro, Câmpia Transilvaniei; hu, Mezőség, ) is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someșul Mare and the Someșul Mic rivers to the north and west and the Mureș River to the south and ...
.
It is improperly called a plateau, for it does not possess extensive plains, but is formed of a network of valleys of various size, ravines and
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...
s, united together by numerous small
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 ...
s, which attain a height of 150–250 m (500–800 ft) above the altitude of the valley.
The plateau has a
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...
. Temperature varies a great deal in the course of a year, with warm summers contrasted by very cold winters. Vast forests cover parts of the plateau and the mountains. The mean elevation is 300–500 m (1,000-1,600 ft).
The Transylvanian plateau is divided into three areas:
*
Someș Plateau
The Someș (; hu, Szamos; german: Somesch or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.[Transylvanian Plain
The Transylvanian Plain ( ro, Câmpia Transilvaniei; hu, Mezőség, ) is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someșul Mare and the Someșul Mic rivers to the north and west and the Mureș River to the south and ...]
(''Câmpia Transilvaniei''; the central part)
*
Târnava Plateau
The Târnava (full name in ro, Râul Târnava; hu, Küküllő; german: Kokel; tr, Kokul or Kokulu) is a river in Romania. It is formed by the confluence of the Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică in the town of Blaj. The Târnava flows into the ...
(''Podișul Târnavelor''; the southern part)
The Transylvanian Plain is also hilly (400–600 m), but because the area is almost completely cultivated it is called a plain.
The Transylvanian Basin
The Transylvanian Basin ( ro, Depresiunea colinară a Transilvaniei) includes the Transylvanian plateau and the peripheral areas towards the Carpathian mountains, which have a different character than the plateau.
The basin is the main production site of Romania's methane. It also contains a
salt dome
A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered usi ...
.
See also
*
Romanian Carpathians
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060127192152/http://archive.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sponsor-child/country_information_on_romania.html
* http://www.globalvolunteers.org/1main/romania/romaniageography.htm
{{Authority control
Plateaus of Romania
Physiographic provinces
Southern Carpathians
Basins of Europe