The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a
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 aris ...
in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
,
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 ...
, which belongs to the
Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the
Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have about 400
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s.
Geography
The Apuseni Mountains do not present an uninterrupted chain of mountains, but possess many low and easy
passes towards the
Crișana and the
Pannonian Plain. Going from south to north the principal groups are: the
Munții Metaliferi ("Ore Mountains") with the
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
ic masses of the
Detunata () near
Abrud; the
Bihor Mountains, with numerous
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
rns, with the highest peak the
Bihorul ();
to the east of this group are the
Muntele Mare (highest peak ), to the southwest of
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
; the northernmost chain is the
SeÈ™ and MeseÈ™ Mountains.
Boundaries
*To the north: the
Barcău River.
*To the south: the
MureÈ™ River MureÈ™ may refer to:
* MureÈ™ County, Romania
* MureÈ™ (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'')
* MureÈ™ culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania
See also
* Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County
* Ocna MureÈ™, a town in Alba Cou ...
.
*To the east: the
Transylvanian Plateau.
*To the west: the
Crișana plains.
Subdivisions
*''
Criș Mountains (Munţii Crișului, )'' :
**
Criș Hills (''Dealurile Crișene'', ), including the
BeiuÈ™ Depression (''Depresiunea BeiuÈ™'', ) and the
Vad Depression (''Depresiunea Vad'', )
**
Pădurea Craiului Mountains (literally:''Forest of the King'', )
**
Codru-Moma Mountains (''Munții Codru-Moma'', )
*''
Seș-Meseș Mountains (Munții Seș-Meseșului)'':
**
Meseș Mountains (''Munții Meseșului'', )
**
SeÈ™ Mountains (''Muntele SeÈ™'', , also ''PlopiÈ™'')
**
Șimleu Depression (''Depresiunea Șimleu Silvanei'', ), often considered part of the Transylvanian Basin-Podişul Someşan
**
Șimleu Mountains (''Munții Șimleu'', ), often considered part of the Transylvanian Basin-Podişul Someşan
*
Bihor Massif (''Masivul Bihor'', ):
**
Bihor Mountains (''Munții Bihorului'', )
**
Vlădeasa Mountains (''Munții Vlădeasa'', )
**
Muntele Mare Mountains (literally: ''Big Mountain''), (''Munții Muntele Mare'', )
**Gilău Mountains (''Munții Gilăului'', )
*
Mureș Mountains (''Munții Mureșului'', ):
**
Zarand Mountains (''Munții Zarandului'', )
**
Metalliferous Mountains (''Munții Metaliferi'', )
**
Trascău Mountains (''Munții Trascăului'', )
Gallery
File:Pietrele Albe.jpg, Vlădeasa
File:Székelykő.JPG, Piatra Secuiului
File:Székelykő-Torockó.JPG
File:Gallery above Mina Rudolf, Turda salt mine, Turda, 2017.jpg, Salina Turda
Salina Turda () is a salt mine in the Durgău-Valea Sărată area of Turda, the second largest city in Cluj County, northwest Transylvania. Opened for tourists in 1992, the Salina Turda mine was visited by about 618,000 Romanian and foreign touris ...
File:Cheile Turzii-(42).JPG, Cheile Turzii
File:Arieseni 27.jpg, Arieșeni
File:Cetatea Trascăului văzută de pe Piatra Secuiului.JPG, Cetatea Trascăului
See also
*
Țara Moților
*
Apuseni Natural Park
References
External links
Photos from Apuseni MountainsTourist attractions in Apuseni MountainsWebsite with information about the Carpathians MountainsApuseni Mountains - photographs + information in Czech
*
{{Coord, 46, 30, N, 23, 00, E, display=title, region:RO_type:mountain_source:dewiki
Mountain ranges of Romania
Mountain ranges of the Western Romanian Carpathians
Western Romanian Carpathians