The Apuseni Natural Park () is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

( natural park category V

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

) situated in

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 ...

, in the administrative territory of counties

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 ...

(28%), Bihor (32 %), and

Cluj 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 ( ...

(40%).

Location

The Natural Park is located in western Romania in the central-northern side of 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 ...

, comprising part of the

Bihor Mountains Bihor Mountains (, ) is a mountain range in western Romania. It is part of the Apuseni Mountains, which are part of the Carpathian Mountains. The massif has a length of from the northwest to the southeast and a width of . It is located east of ...

to the south and to the north. It is situated on the administrative territory of 16 communes, which include 53 localities fully and 8 others partially. The Park features 3 resorts:

Boga Boga is a common name for fishes and may refer to: *''Haemulon vittata'' *''Haemulon vittatum'' *''Leporinus obtusidens'' Boga may also refer to: * Boga (soft drink), a Tunisian brand of soft drinks * BOGA, the Bern Botanical Gardens in Switzer ...

, Fântânele, and

Vârtop Vârtop is a commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, 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, S ...

Natural reserves

The Apuseni Natural Park with an area of was declared natural protected area by the ''Law Number 5 of March 6, 2000'' (published in the

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official government gazette, gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgation, promulgated bills, President of Romania, presidential decrees, Government of Romania, governmental ordinances and other m ...

of Romania, Number 152 of April 12, 2000) and represents a mountainous area (mountain peaks,

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

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 ...

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s, karst areas,

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s, and

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

s), with flora and fauna specific to the

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians () are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland w ...

. Natural reserves included in the park: * Alba County Coiba Mare Portal

**', **', **', **', **', **', **''

Scărișoara Cave Scărișoara Cave (, ), is one of the biggest ice caves in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania, in the western part of the Romanian Carpathians. It is considered a show cave and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Romania, natural wonders of Romania. ...

'',

* Bihor County **', **'' Bears' Cave'', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', Cheile Galbenei

**', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', **', *Cluj County **',

Rivers and lakes

The surface waters of the Apuseni Natural Park belong to the hydrographic basins of the rivers: *

Arieșul Mare The Arieșul Mare () is a river in the Apuseni Mountains, Alba County, western Romania. It is the left headwater of the river Arieș. It flows through the villages Arieșeni, Gârda de Sus, Scărișoara, Albac and Vadu Moților, and joins the ...

and its tributaries,

Gârda Seacă The Gârda Seacă is a left tributary of the river Arieșul Mare in Romania. It discharges into the Arieșul Mare in Gârda de Sus Gârda de Sus (; ) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,415 as of ...

, , and

Cobleș The Cobleș is a left tributary of the river Arieșul Mare in 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, Hungar ...

. *

Someșul Mic The Someșul Mic (''Little Someș'', Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kis-Szamos'') is a river in north-western Romania (Cluj County). At its confluence with the Someșul Mare in Mica, Cluj, Mica, the Someș is formed. Its total length is , and ...

and its left

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 ...

, the

Someșul Cald The Someșul Cald ( Hungarian: ''Meleg-Szamos''; literally "Warm Someș") is the left headwater of the river Someșul Mic in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and So ...

, together with the latter's tributaries, , ,

Beliș Beliș (; ) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Bălcești (''Balktelep''), Beliș, Dealu Botii (''Kerekhegy''), Giurcuța de Jos (''Alsógyurkuca''), Giurcuța de Sus (''Felsőgyurkuca''), Poian ...

, , , , Valea Izbucului, and Călineasa. *

Crișul Negru The Crișul Negru (Black Criș) ( Romanian), () is a river in western Romania (Transylvania) and south-eastern Hungary (Békés County). The river has its source in the western Apuseni Mountains of Romania. Flowing through the Romanian towns of � ...

and its tributaries,

Crișul Pietros The Crișul Pietros (Romanian for: "stony Criș") is a right tributary of the river Crișul Negru in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders ...

(together with its headwater, , and its tributaries,

Valea Mare Cărpinoasa The Valea Mare Cărpinoasa is a right tributary of the river Crișul Pietros in 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 ) and Crișul Băița (together with its tributaries, and Sighiștel). In the northern part of the park, there is the , a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in the

Gilău 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 abo ...

, built between 1970 and 1974. Located at an altitude of , the reservoir covers an area of and has a volume of of water. It was formed after the damming of the Someșul Cald downstream of its confluence with the Beliș stream; the dam has a height of and a length of . From the reservoir, the water is diverted through a tunnel to the turbines of the

Mărișelu Hydroelectric Power Station Mărişelu Hydro Power Plant is a large power plant on the Someșul Cald river situated in Romania. The project was started and finished in the 1970s and it was made up by the construction of a rockfill dam high and long at the top. From the res ...

References

{{Protected areas of Romania Protected areas of Romania Geography of Alba County Geography of Bihor County Geography of Cluj County Tourist attractions in Alba County Tourist attractions in Bihor County Tourist attractions in Cluj County Protected areas established in 2000 2000 establishments in Romania Parks established in the 2000s