The Măcin Mountains () is 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 arise ...

Tulcea County Tulcea County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea. It includes in its northeast corner the large and thinly-populated estuary of the Danube. Demographics In 2011, Tulcea Co ...

, Romania. Part of the Northern Dobruja Massif, they are located between

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 , p ...

River to the north and west, Taița River and ''Culmea Niculițelului'' to the east and Casimcea Plateau to the south. Seen from the Danube, they seem only low hills. However, they are a mountainous region. The Măcin Mountains are one of the oldest in Romania, being formed in the second part of the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

, in the Carboniferous and

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

, during the

Hercynian orogeny The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...

. The predominant rock is

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

. Erosion (caused by the difference of temperature) has created steep slopes, with the aspect of ruins. They are divided in ''Culmea Măcinului'' (the southern part) and ''Culmea Pricopanului'' (the northern part). The highest peak is ''Țuțuiatu'' (also called ''Greci''), which has a height of 467 meters. Other important peaks are ''Priopcea'' Hill (410 m) and ''Muntele lui Iacob'' (Iacob's Mountain – 341 m).

Vegetation and avifauna

Besides the Balkanic and sub-Mediterranean forests, the Măcin Mountains also have a considerable swathe of steppe, making it a delightful site for birds. The area is a staging point for various migratory bird species, especially raptors, who arrive here in autumn. The region is home to species such as European turtle dove,

red-rumped swallow The red-rumped swallow (''Cecropis daurica'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The India ...

, common and isabelline wheatears,

ortolan bunting The ortolan (''Emberiza hortulana''), also called ortolan bunting, is a Eurasian bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a passerine family now separated by most modern scholars from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is fro ...

and several others. Măcin Mountains are also the hunting grounds of the

long-legged buzzard The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...

(''Buteo rufinus''), one of Europe's largest buzzards. It shares the mountains with other birds of prey such as short-toed eagle, booted eagle, Levant sparrowhawk and

saker falcon The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...

References

External links

Mountain ranges of Romania Dobruja Geography of Tulcea County {{Romania-geo-stub

Vegetation and avifauna

See also

References

External links