The Șureanu Mountains ( German: ''Mühlbacher Gebirge'', Hungarian: ''Kudzsiri-havasok''), belong to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

's Parâng range in the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ; ) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and ...

, with peaks frequently exceeding . The mountains are located north of Romania's

Jiu Valley The Jiu Valley ( , ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and the main activity ...

, in the

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; ; ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș (''Grós''), Hășdat (''Hosdát ...

and

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

counties. They border the Cindrel Mountains to the east and the Lotru Mountains to the southeast. The Parâng Mountains are to the south, separated by the Jiul de Est River. To the west, across the Hațeg Depression and the Orăștie Corridor, lie the Retezat Mountains and the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, while to the north, across the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...

valley, lie the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

. The Șureanu Mountains are divided into the Sebeș Mountains to the east and the Orăștiei Mountains to the west. In all, they cover an area of . The highest peak is Peter's Peak (''Vârfu lui Pătru''), at ; other peaks are Șureanu Peak, at and Vârfu Negru, at , as well as Aușelu, Comărnicelul, Gropșoara, and Pârva peaks. They are primarily a highland with meadows and pastures, with very large forested area throughout the surrounding high mountains. In the southern area of these mountains there is a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

region with several caves, hills, and gorges. Lake Șureanu (also known as the Bottomless Lake) is a

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

situated at an altitude of , east of Șureanu Peak. It covers , has length , maximum width of , and maximum depth of . The Șureanu Mountains are traversed by several rivers, mostly flowing north towards the Mureș. * The Cugir River has its source under Peter's Peak, at an altitude of ; it starts at the confluence of

headwater The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

s Râul Mare and Râul Mic in the town of Cugir. * The Orăștie River has its source near Zebru Mountain, at an altitude of . * The Pianul River has its source in Pianu commune. * The Sebeș River starts from the Oașa Lake and separates the Șureanu and Cindrel mountains. * The Strei River has its source above Baru commune.

Notes

Mountain ranges of Romania Mountain ranges of the Southern Carpathians {{Romania-geo-stub