The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the

Carpathians 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 Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

, stretching from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in the west along the border of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

with

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 s ...

up to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in the east. The highest mountain in the Beskids is

Hoverla Mount Hoverla (Ukrainian and rue, Говерла, Hoverla), at , is the highest mountain in Ukraine and part of the Carpathian Mountains (Ukrainian Carpathians). The mountain is located in the Eastern Beskids, in the Chornohora region. The slope ...

, at 2,061 m metres (6,762 ft).

Etymology

The origin of the name ''beskydy'' has not been conclusively established. A

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

or Illyrian origin has been suggested, however, as yet, no theory has majority support among linguists. The word appears in numerous mountain names throughout the Carpathians and the adjacent

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

regions, like in

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

''bjeshkë''. According to linguists Çabej and Orel, it is possibly derived from Proto-Albanian "''*beškāi tāi''" (meaning the mountain pastures).The Slovak name ''Beskydy'' refers to the Polish Bieszczady Mountains, which is not a synonym for the entire Beskids but one single range, belonging to the

Eastern Beskids The Eastern Beskids or Eastern Beskyds ( uk, Східні Бескиди; pl, Beskidy Wschodnie; rue, Выходны Бескиды; ro, Beskizii Orientali; russian: Восточные Бескиды) are a geological group of mountain ranges o ...

. According to another linguistic theory, it may be related to

Middle Low German Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...

''beshêt'', ''beskēt'', meaning

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

. Historically, the term was used for hundreds of years to describe the mountain range separating the old

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

from the old Kingdom of Poland. In 1269, the Beskids were known by the Latin name "''Beschad Alpes Poloniae''" (translated as: ''Beskid Mountains of Poland'').Kazimierz Zarzycki, Zbigniew Głowaciński (1986): Bieszczady (p. 7)
/ref>

Definition

The Beskids are approximately 600 km in length and 50–70 km in width. They stand mainly along the southern border of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

with northern Slovakia, stretching to the

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

and Czech Silesia regions of the eastern Czech Republic and to Carpathian Ruthenia in western Ukraine. Parts form the European Watershed, separating the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

and

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

basins in the north from the Eastern Slovak Lowland, part of the Great Hungarian Plain drained by the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

River. Geologically all of the Beskids stand within the

Outer 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 Sy ...

and the Outer Eastern Carpathians. In the west they begin at the natural pass of the

Moravian Gate The Moravian Gate ( cs, Moravská brána, pl, Brama Morawska, german: Mährische Pforte, sk, Moravská brána) is a geomorphological feature in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Upper Silesia region in Poland. It is formed by the ...

, which separates them from the

Eastern Sudetes The Eastern Sudetes ( pl, Sudety Wschodnie, cs, Východní Sudety or ''Jesenická oblast'') are the eastern part of the Sudetes mountains on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland. They stretch from the Kłodzko Valley and the Eastern Neiss ...

, continue east in a band to the north of the Tatra Mountains, and end in

. The eastern termination of the Beskids is disputed. According to older sources, the Beskids end at the source of the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

River, while newer sources state that the Beskids end at the

Uzhok Pass Uzhok Pass ( ua, Ужоцький перевал, hu, Uzsoki-hágó) is a mountain pass in the north-eastern Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine through the Vodorazdel'nyy backbone. It located on a ridge at high. It is located on the border of Str ...

at the Polish–Ukrainian border.

Subdivisions

Multiple traditions, languages and nationalities have developed overlapping variants for the divisions and names of the Beskid ranges. According to the divisions of the Carpathians, they are categorized within:

Western Beskids

* Western Beskids (PL: ''Beskidy Zachodnie'', SK: ''Západné Beskydy'', CZ: ''Západní Beskydy'') **Western section of the Western Beskids: ***

Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains ( cs, Hostýnsko-vsetínská hornatina) is a mountain range in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. The mountains are densely forested mainly by secondary spruce plantations. Most visited are the bordering Rožnovská ...

(Czech: ''Hostýnsko-vsetínská hornatina'') → e1 ***

Moravian-Silesian Beskids The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (Czech: , sk, Moravsko-sliezske Beskydy) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic with a small part reaching to Slovakia. It lies on the historical division between Moravia and Silesia, hence the name. It is part o ...

(Czech: ''Moravskoslezské Beskydy'', Slovak: ''Moravsko-sliezske Beskydy'') → e2 ***

Turzovka Highlands Turzovka ( hu, Turzófalva) is a town in the Čadca District, Žilina Region in north-western Slovakia. History The present-day town was established in 1598 by a palatine of the Thurzó family. It gained town status in 1968. This town became w ...

(Slovak: ''Turzovská vrchovina'') → e3 ***

Jablunkov Furrow Jablunkov (; pl, , german: Jablunkau) is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,300 inhabitants. Polish minority makes up 16.4% of the population. It is inhabited by a large amou ...

(Czech: ''Jablunkovská brázda'') → e4 ***

Rožnov Furrow Rožnov is name of several places in the Czech Republic: *Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (; german: Rosenau unter dem Radhoscht) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabit ...

(Czech: ''Rožnovská brázda'') → e5 ***

Jablunkov Intermontane Jablunkov (; pl, , german: Jablunkau) is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,300 inhabitants. Polish minority makes up 16.4% of the population. It is inhabited by a large amou ...

(Slovak: ''Jablunkovské medzihorie'', Czech: ''Jablunkovské mezihoří'') → e6 *** Silesian Beskids (Polish: ''Beskid Śląski'', Czech: ''Slezské Beskydy'') → e7 ***

Żywiec Basin Żywiec Basin ( pl, Kotlina ŻywieckaProf. Jerzy Kondracki. Geografia fizyczna Polski. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Warszawa. 1988. ) is a lowland, located in southern Poland, between the Little Beskids to the north, Silesian Beskids to the we ...

(Polish: ''Kotlina Żywiecka'') → e8 **Northern section of the Western Beskids: ***

Little Beskids The Little Beskids () is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in the Western Beskids ranges of the Outer Western Carpathians in southeastern Poland. Within the range is the protected area known as Little Beskids Landscape Park. Its highest mount ...

( pl, Beskid Mały) → f1 ***

Maków Beskids The Maków Beskids ( pl, Beskid Makowski) is a mountain range in south-central Poland, part of the Western Beskids within the Outer Western Carpathians. Its highest peak is Mędralowa (1169 meters), within a total area of 900 square kilometers, a ...

( pl, Beskid Makowski) → f2 ***

Island Beskids The Island Beskids (in Polish, ''Beskid Wyspowy'') is a mountain range in southern Poland, part of the Western Beskids of the Outer Western Carpathians, with significant natural resources, folk culture, medieval history, and developing resources ...

( pl, Beskid Wyspowy) → f3 *** Gorce Mountains ( pl, Gorce) → f4 ***

Rabka Basin Rabka may refer to the following places: * Rabka, Tibet, a village in China * Rabka-Zdrój Rabka-Zdrój (, in Goral dialects: ''Robka'', colloquially: ''Rabka'') is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków a ...

( pl, Kotlina Rabczańska) → f5 *** Sącz Basin ( pl, Kotlina Sądecka) → f6 **

Central section of the Western Beskids Central section of the Western Beskids ( cs, Střední část Západních Beskyd; pl, Środkowa część Beskidów Zachodnich) are a set of mountain ranges spanning the southern Polish and northern Slovak border. They constitute a section of th ...

: ***

Orava Beskids Orava or Orawa may refer to: *Orava (region), a region in Slovakia and Poland *Orava (river) in Slovakia *Orava Castle, a castle in Slovakia * Orava (reservoir), a reservoir in Slovakia * Orava County, a historic administrative county of the Kingdo ...

(SK: ''Oravské Beskydy'') +

Żywiec Beskids The Żywiec Beskids ( pl, Beskid Żywiecki) is a mountain range in the Outer Western Carpathians in southern Poland. It is the second highest range in Poland, after the Tatra Mountains. The highest peak is Babia Góra (1,725 m) and Pilsko Pi ...

(PL: ''Beskid Żywiecki'') (the older SK equivalent of Beskid Zywiecki is "Slovenské Beskydy" - Slovak Beskids or "Kysucko-oravské Beskydy" - Kysuce-Orava Beskids) → g1 ***

Kysuce Beskids Kysuce is a traditional informal name of a region in north-western Slovakia, situated around the Kysuca river and bordering the Orava region in the east, Poland in the north and the Czech Republic in the west. It consists of two districts: Čadca ...

(SK: ''Kysucké Beskydy'') +

(PL: ''Beskid Żywiecki'') (the older SK equivalent of Beskid Zywiecki is "Slovenské Beskydy" or "Kysucko-oravské Beskydy") → g2 ***

Orava Magura The Orava Magura ( sk, Oravská Magura, hu, Árvai-Magura) is a mountain range in the Žilina Region of northern central Slovakia. The range is part of the Central Beskids, which are themselves part of the Outer Western Carpathians. The Orava ...

(SK: ''Oravská Magura'') → g3 ***

Orava Highlands The Orava Highlands (in Slovak, ''Oravská vrchovina'') is a range of small mountains in the Žilina Region of north central Slovakia, part of the Outer Western Carpathians. In Slovakia these hills are considered part of the Central Beskids; in ...

(SK: ''Oravská vrchovina'') → g4 *** Sub-Beskidian Furrow (SK: ''Podbeskydská brázda'') → g5 *** Sub-Beskidian Highlands (SK: ''Podbeskydská vrchovina'') → g6 ** Eastern section of the Western Beskids: ***

Beskid Sądecki Beskid Sądecki is a mountain range in the eastern section of the Western Beskids, within the Outer Western Carpathians. It is located in the border region between Poland and Slovakia. On the Polish side, it stretches along an area of 670& ...

( pl, Beskid Sądecki) → h1 ***

Čergov Čergov is a mountain range in the central part of the Prešov Region of Slovakia. Geologically the range is part of the Outer Western Carpathians. The Polish name for the range is ''Góry Czerchowskie'', the Czerchów Mountains. In Polish te ...

( pl, Góry Czerchowskie; sk, Čergov) → h2 *** Pieniny ( pl, Pieniny; sk, Pieniny) → h3 *

West Beskidian Foothills The Western Beskidian Foothills ( cs, Západobeskydské podhůří, pl, Pogórze Zachodniobeskidzkie) is a geological region in the northeastern corner of the Czech Republic and extending into southern Poland. The relatively modest foothills are ...

, in the Czech Republic and Poland **

Silesian-Moravian Foothills Moravian-Silesian Foothills ( cz, Podbeskydská pahorkatina, pl, Pogórze Morawsko-Śląskie) are foothills and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. Geomorphology The region represents the westernmost section of the Western Bes ...

(CZ: ''Podbeskydská pahorkatina'', PL: ''Pogórze Śląsko-Morawskie'') → d1 **

Silesian Foothills Silesian Foothills ( pl, Pogórze Śląskie, cs, Slezské podhůří, szl, Pogōrze Ślōnske) are foothills located in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It has an area of 545 km2. Its western border is Olza river, eastern Skawa. Other main ri ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Śląskie'') → d2 **

Wieliczka Foothills Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Wielickie'') → d3 **

Wiśnicz Foothills Wiśnicz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Małogoszcz, within Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Małogoszcz Małogoszcz is a town in the Jędrzejów Cou ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Wiśnickie'') → d4

Central Beskids

Central Beskids The Low Beskids ( sk, Nízke Beskydy) or Central Beskids ( pl, Beskidy Środkowe; cs, Centrální Beskydy; uk, Центральні Бескиди) are a mountain range in southeastern Poland and northeastern Slovakia. They constitute a middle ...

(PL: Beskidy Środkowe) or

Low Beskids The Low Beskids ( sk, Nízke Beskydy) or Central Beskids ( pl, Beskidy Środkowe; cs, Centrální Beskydy; uk, Центральні Бескиди) are a mountain range in southeastern Poland and northeastern Slovakia. They constitute a middle ...

(SK: ''Nízke Beskydy'') ** Busov, in Slovakia **

Ondava Highlands The Ondava is a river in eastern Slovakia, the northern source river of the Bodrog. Its source is in the Low Beskids (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the village Nižná Polianka, close to the border with Poland. The Ondava flows south throu ...

(SK: ''Ondavská vrchovina'') **''Low Beskid'' (PL: ''Beskid Niski'') +

Laborec Highlands The Laborec Highlands (in Slovak, ''Laborecká vrchovina'') is a mountain range in northeastern Slovakia, part of the Lower Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians. The range is composed of Carpathian flysch. Bordered in the north by the Polis ...

(SK: ''Laborecká vrchovina'') ** Beskidian Southern Foothills (SK: ''Beskydské predhorie'') *

Central Beskidian Piedmont The Central Beskidian Piedmont ( pl, Pogórze Środkowobeskidzkie) is a geographical region in southeastern Poland. It lies north of the Central Beskids, and belongs to the Outer Eastern Carpathians, representing the northernmost region of the Car ...

, in Poland **

Rożnów Piedmont Rożnów may refer to the following places in Poland: *Rożnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (south-west Poland) *Rożnów, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south Poland) *Rożnów, Opole Voivodeship (south-west Poland) *Lake Rożnów Lake Rożnow ( pl, J ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Rożnowskie'') **

Ciężkowice Piedmont Ciężkowice is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,444 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies in the ''Ciężkowice Foothills'', on the Biała river. The town is located on regional road nr. 977, it also has a ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Ciężkowickie'') **

Strzyżów Piedmont Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzesz� ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Strzyżowskie'') **

Dynów Piedmont Dynów () ( uk, Динів, lat, Dinoum, yi, דינאוו) is a small town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,058 (02.06.2009). History Dynów was first mentioned in written sources in 1423. At that ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Dynowskie'') **

Przemyśl Piedmont Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Przemyskie'') **

Gorlice Depression Gorlice ( uk, Горлиці, translit=''Horlytsi'') is a city and an urban municipality (" gmina") in south eastern Poland with around 29,500 inhabitants (2008). It is situated south east of Kraków and south of Tarnów between Jasło and Nowy ...

(PL: ''Obniżenie Gorlickie'') ** Jasło-Krosno Basin (PL: ''Kotlina Jasielsko-Krośnieńska'') **

Jasło Piedmont Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Jasielskie'') **

Bukowsko Piedmont Bukowsko (; yi, בוקאווסק, Bikofsk; uk, Буківсько, Bukivsʹko) is a village in Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland. It's in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, parish ''in loco'', located near the towns of Medzilaborce ...

(PL: ''Pogórze Bukowskie'')

Eastern Beskids

are divided into two parallel ridges: ''Wooded Beskids'' and ''Polonynian Beskids''. *

Wooded Beskids A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

(PL: ''Beskidy Lesiste''; UA: ''Лісисті Бескиди'') ** Bieszczady Mountains (PL: Bieszczady; UK: Бещади) → c1 **

Sanok-Turka Mountains The Sanok-Turka Mountains ( pl, Góry Sanocko-Turczańskie; uk, Сяноцько-Турчанські гори) are a mountain range in the Eastern Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. They are located in southern border section betwee ...

(PL: Góry Sanocko-Turczańskie; UK: Верхньодністровські Бескиди) → c3 **

Skole Beskids The Skole Beskids ( uk, Сколівські Бескиди; pl, Beskidy Skolskie) is a mountain range in western Ukraine, belonging to the set of ranges called the Eastern Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. The mountains are compos ...

(PL: Beskidy Skolskie; UA: Сколівські Бескиди) → c2 ** Gorgany (PL: Gorgany; UA: Ґорґани) → c4 ** Pokuttia-Bucovina Beskids (PL: Beskidy Pokucko-Bukowińskie; UA: Покутсько-Буковинські Карпати) → c5 *

Polonynian Beskids Polonynian Beskids or Polonyne Beskids ( uk, Полонинські Бескиди; pl, Beskidy Połonińskie) is a geological group of mountain ranges of the Eastern Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. It is one of two parallel mount ...

(PL: ''Beskidy Połonińskie''; UA: ''Полонинські Бескиди'') **

Smooth Polonyna Smooth may refer to: Mathematics * Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology * Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions * Smooth algebrai ...

(UK: Полонина Рівна) → c6 **

Polonyna Borzhava Polonyna may refer to: * Polonyna (montane meadow), a type of mountain meadows in the Carpathians * Polonyna Chornohora, a mountain in the Ukrainian Carpathians * Polonyna Beskids, a mountain range of the Eastern Beskids See also * Poloniny (disa ...

(UK: Полонина Боржава) → c7 **

Polonyna Kuk Polonyna may refer to: * Polonyna (montane meadow), a type of mountain meadows in the Carpathians * Polonyna Chornohora, a mountain in the Ukrainian Carpathians * Polonyna Beskids, a mountain range of the Eastern Beskids See also * Poloniny (disa ...

(UK: Полонина Кук) → c8 **

Red Polonyna Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

(UK: Полонина Красна)→ c9 **

Svydovets The Svydovets (Ukrainian Свидовець; Polish ''Świdowiec''; Czech and Slovak ''Svidovec''; German ''Swydiwez'') is a mountain range in western Ukraine, one of the ranges of Eastern Beskids, itself belonging to the Outer Eastern Carpathia ...

(UK: Свидівець) → c10 **

Chornohora Chornohora (literally: "Black Mountain"; uk, Чорногора, romanized: ''Chornohora'') is the highest mountain range in Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids, which in turn ...

(UK: Чорногора) → c11 ** Hrynyavy Mountains (UK: Гриняви) → c12

Infrastructure

The Beskids are currently rich in

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

. In the past they were rich in

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

, with important plants in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

and

Třinec Třinec (; pl, Trzyniec ; german: Trzynietz) is a city in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants and is the least populated statutory city in the country. The city is an ...

–

Třinec Iron and Steel Works Třinec Iron and Steel Works (TŽ) ( cs, Třinecké železárny, pl, Huta trzyniecka) is a producer of long rolled steel products in Třinec, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. TŽ produces over a third of all steel produced in the Cze ...

. There are many tourist attractions, including historic wooden churches (see

Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland The wooden churches of southern Lesser Poland () of the UNESCO inscription are located in Binarowa, Blizne, Dębno, Haczów, Lipnica Murowana, and Sękowa ( Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Małopolska). There are in fact many others of the region wh ...

, Carpathian Wooden Churches of Slovakia, and

Wooden Churches of Ukraine Wooden church architecture in Ukraine dates from the beginning of Christianity in the area and comprises a set of unique styles and forms specific to many sub-regions of the country. As a form of vernacular culture, construction of the churches in ...

) and the increasingly popular

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

resorts. A number of environmental groups support a small but growing population of bears, wolves and lynx in the ecosystem of the Beskidy mountains. The Central Beskids include the Polish Babia Góra National Park and the adjacent Slovak

Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Horná Orava) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. It is situated in the Námestovo and Tvrdošín districts, within the Orava region. History The park w ...

Gallery

File:Beskid Mountains division map.svg, Map of the Beskid ranges in Slovakia and Poland File:Czantoria - widok z wiezy widokowej 09.JPG, Czantoria, Silesian Beskids File:Beskidy Bieszczady SE.jpg, Western Bieszczady File:Bieszczady1.jpg, Western Bieszczady File:New granite sculpture of Radegast.jpg, Statue of "

Radegast Radegast () is a small town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the smallest town in Saxony-Anhalt and is located about 13 km south of the district capital of Köthen. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of th ...

" on a Czech Beskids File:Kwiaton 2.jpg, Wooden church in

Kwiatoń Kwiatoń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Uście Gorlickie, within Gorlice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately east of Uście Gorlickie, south of G ...

File:OV-Hrabova.JPG, Wooden church in Hrabova, Moravia (14th century – 1564) File:Koniaków miyszani owiec (redyk wiosenny) 04.jpg, Shepherds in Silesian Beskids File:Beskid Wyspowy a10.jpg,

Citations

General and cited sources

* * * * * Świstuń, Filip
''Galicyjskie Beskidy i Karpaty Lesiste: Zarys orograficzn''
Rzeszow, 1876. *

External links

Carpathian Mountains: Division (map)
{{Authority control Geography of Lviv Oblast Lesser Poland Voivodeship Moravian-Silesian Region Mountain ranges of Poland Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Carpathians Mountain ranges of the Czech Republic Mountain ranges of Ukraine Silesian Voivodeship