The Gorce Mountains ( pl, Gorce ) are part of the
Western Beskids
The Western Beskids ( cs, Západní Beskydy; sk, Západné Beskydy; pl, Beskidy Zachodnie; german: Westbeskiden) are a set of mountain ranges spanning the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. Geologically the Western Beskids are part of the Ou ...
mountain
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
spreading across southernmost
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 ...
.
They are situated in
Małopolska Province, at the western tip of the long
Carpathian range extending east beyond the
Dunajec
The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at t ...
River for some . The Gorce are characterized by numerous ridges reaching in all directions for up to with a series of higher elevations cut by deep river valleys.
The range is dominated by about a dozen gentle peaks including Turbacz (the highest, at above sea level) in the centre, and – facing east: Jaworzyna Kamienicka (), Kiczora (), Kudłoń (), Przysłop, Czoło and Gorc Kamienicki. The south-eastern ridge of the Gorce reaches the
Pieniny
The Pieniny (sometimes also the PieninsSzafer, Władysław. 2013. ''The Vegetation of Poland: International Series of Monographs in Pure and Applied Biology''. Warsaw: Pergamon Press, pp. 156, 388. or the Pienin Mountains,Griffiths, Graham C. D. ...
range (cut off by the
Ochotnica pass), with Lubań () as its tallest peak followed by Pasterski Wierch, Runek and Marszałek.
The north-west ridges include Obidowiec, and the peak of Suhora (1,000 m (3,300 ft)) featuring
an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the
Pedagogical University
The Maputo University ( pt, Universidade Maputo) is one of Mozambique's principal universities. The name of the university is abbreviated to UniMaputo or UM. As a university, it was the first and the only public fully dedicated to teacher educatio ...
of
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
.
There are a number of smaller caves in the Gorce, carved out in
sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
and its
conglomerates which form the
Carpathian Flysch Belt
The Carpathian Flysch Belt is an arcuate tectonic zone included in the megastructural elevation of the Carpathians on the external periphery of the mountain chain. Geomorphologically it is a portion of the Outer Carpathians. Geologically it is a ...
. High annual rainfall is caused by the air forced up by the mountains and accumulating into clouds. Rain water flows fast in all directions due to dense ground and ; feeding the
Raba river on the north-west side of the Gorce, and the
Dunajec
The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at t ...
on the south-east side. Other rivers, formed by the mountains include the Kamienica ( in length), the Ochotnica () and the Porębianka (), as well as large streams such as the Turbacz, the Gorcowy and the Łopuszna among others. The main city is
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mount ...
on the Dunajec below in the valley of
Podhale
Podhale (literally "below the mountain pastures") is Poland's southernmost region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish Highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains. It is the most famous ...
,
with large recreational villages including
Krościenko nad Dunajcem
Krościenko nad Dunajcem is a village in southern Poland situated in the Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999 (previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship, from 1975 to 1998). Located near Poland's border with Slovakia, it is appro ...
,
Szczawa and
Ochotnica.
Geography
Part of the Gorce Mountains are protected within
Gorce National Park
Gorce National Park ( pl, Gorczański Park Narodowy) is a national park in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It covers central and northeastern parts of the Gorce Mountains, which are part of the Western Beskids (at the western end of ...
( pl, Gorczański Park Narodowy), a bird sanctuary and
a biodiversity conservation area designated in 1981 by the Małopolska
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
,
with strictly protected zone covering 3,611 hectares,
out of the total park area of , in the highest part of the Gorce.
Wildlife include almost 50 mammal species,
with
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
and
lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
at the top; less frequent
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
,
and
lutra
''Lutra'' is a genus of otters, one of seven in the subfamily Lutrinae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus includes these species:
Extant species
Extinct species
*†'' Lutra affinis''
*†'' Lutra bressana ''
*†'' Lutra bravardi''
*†'' ...
(rare
European otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...
), as well as
marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
and
badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united b ...
often found digging under pasture fields. The
Hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
and the
Forest dormouse
The forest dormouse (''Dryomys nitedula'') is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae found in eastern Europe, the Balkans and parts of western Central Asia. It is categorized as being of least concern in the ''IUCN List of Threatened Specie ...
along with the
Edible dormouse
''Glis'' is a genus of rodent that contains two extant species, both known as edible dormice or fat dormice: the European edible dormouse ''(Glis glis'') and the Iranian edible dormouse (''Glis persicus''). It also contains a number of fossil spec ...
are all strictly protected. There are over 200
Red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
counted in the park area, as well as
Roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
and
Wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
,
fox,
wildcat
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
,
hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
, skunk, and
stoat
The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...
(the ermine). Reptiles and amphibians include the
fire salamander ( la, Salamandra salamandra, the only amphibian (one of two ''Salamandridae'') that give birth to fully formed offspring at high elevations;
the symbol of the Park),
as well as over ninety species of breeding birds including owl, eagle, hawk,
grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...
,
black stork
The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...
and others.
In the Gorce, there are hundreds of species of plants, including
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
and
Subalpine
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
plants, which grow in meadows and open areas. Forests cover about 65% of the mountains, in four distinct levels according to elevation. The most common species of trees are
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
and
fir,
with the average age of up to 100 years.
The Gorce landscape has been altered by human activity. Early settlers appeared in the Gorce area in the 12th century. The first monastery was erected in
Ludźmierz
Ludźmierz is a village in Poland in the Lesser Poland voivodeship, in the county of Nowy Targ. Ludźmierz is the oldest village in Podhale and is located about 85 kilometres south of Kraków. It lies approximately west of Nowy Targ and south o ...
by Cisterian monks in 1234. During the reign of
Casimir III the Great
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...
(''Kazimierz Wielki'') the first castles were built, including in
Czorsztyn
Czorsztyn (German: ''Schorstin'') is a village in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Nowy Targ County. The village lies in Pieniny, the mountain range on the current Polish- Slovak border. It is famous for the ruins of a 14th-17th-century ...
, and more new settlements, such as the town of
Krościenko (1348) and villages:
Kluszkowce (1307),
Grywałd
Grywałd is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krościenko nad Dunajcem, within Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately north-west of Krościenko n ...
(1330), and
Tylmanowa (1336), were established along the border with the Kingdom of Hungary, followed by increased commercial
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
and transport. However, the Gorce forests suffered most in the 19th century during
the imperial rule of Austria-Hungary. Trees were cut on a large scale, especially in easily accessible areas.
The Gorce Mountains are a popular tourist area, with forty well-marked trails for hiking trips two-to-four hours long, split into different levels of difficulty with the maximum distance of (''Raba Niżna-Turbacz'' Trail, which is twice the average length).
Notably, the colors of
trail blazes (signs, installed by
PTTK
''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country.
The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...
for hikers and skiers alike) do not imply levels of difficulty, but rather primary and secondary trails with different length and orientation, for example: the red and blue colors signify trails in east-west and north-south directions, while shortest loops generally use yellow blazes.
#
Red, the
longest trail, traversing the entire range: from easternmost
Krościenko nad Dunajcem
Krościenko nad Dunajcem is a village in southern Poland situated in the Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999 (previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship, from 1975 to 1998). Located near Poland's border with Slovakia, it is appro ...
, to
Rabka-Zdrój
Rabka-Zdrój (, in Goral dialects: ''Robka'', colloquially: ''Rabka'') is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce Mountains, where the rivers Poni ...
at its western end.
#
Blue trails, from Snozka Pass (Przełęcz Snozka) in the south, to
Kamienica (north).
#
Green trails, from
Tylmanowa,
Niedźwiedź,
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mount ...
(district capital) across the highest peaks (Turbacz, Lubań).
#
Yellow trails, from
Ochotnica Górna,
Poręba Wielka,
Raba Niżna
Raba Niżna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Mszana Dolna, within Limanowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Mszana Dolna, west of Limanowa, and south of the regi ...
to
PTTK
''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country.
The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...
mountain chalets usually.
#
Black trails; from
Szczawa,
Lubomierz
Lubomierz (german: Liebenthal) is a town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Lubomierz. It lies approximately south-west of Lw ...
,
Łopuszna
Łopuszna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Targ, within Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately east of Nowy Targ and south of the regional capital Kraków. The village, ...
,
Mszana Dolna
Mszana (German: ''Mschanna'') is a village in Wodzisław County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mszana. It lies approximately south-east of Wodzisław Śląski and ...
,
Rabka-Zdrój
Rabka-Zdrój (, in Goral dialects: ''Robka'', colloquially: ''Rabka'') is a spa town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It is located between Kraków and Zakopane in a valley on the northern slopes of the Gorce Mountains, where the rivers Poni ...
across various meadows and passes.
See also
*
Geography of Poland
Poland ( pl, Polska) is a country that extends across the North European Plain from the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of the Europe ...
*
Tourism in Poland
Poland is a part of the global tourism market with constantly increasing number of visitors. Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy. The most popular cities are Kraków, Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań, Szczecin, ...
Notes and references
External links
The relief map of Gorce marked with tourist trails and approximate walking time, published b
''Mapy górskie'', 2012.Retrieved
with exact elevations, mountain passes, and the location of astronomical observatory; published by Wydawnictwo ''Compass'', Poland. Retrieved
published by ''Pieniny.com'' in collaboration with European Union Agricultural Development Fund ''LEADER'', 2007-2013. Retrieved
High zoom map of Gorce National Park with the location of every single peak and names of all forests and streams, published by the
Gorce National Park
Gorce National Park ( pl, Gorczański Park Narodowy) is a national park in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It covers central and northeastern parts of the Gorce Mountains, which are part of the Western Beskids (at the western end of ...
(''Gorczański Park Narodowy''), 2012. Retrieved
Selection of smaller maps of walking, biking, skiing, and horse-riding trails in the Park with an introduction to levels of difficulty by Krystyna Popko - Tomasiewicz, published by ''Gorczański Park Narodowy''. Retrieved
digitized from ''Mapa turystyczna Gorce'' published by Wydawnictwo "Sygnatura", Polkart. Retrieved (courtesy of Maps online ''e-Gory.pl'').
East Carpathians Biosphere Reserveby UNESCO at ''MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory''. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
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Mountain ranges of Poland
National parks of Poland
Parks in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
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