The Pieniny (sometimes also the Pienins
[Szafer, 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. 1976. Studies on Boreal Agromyzidae (Diptera). XII. ''Phytomyza'' and ''Chromatomyia'' miners on Astereae (Compositae).''Quaestiones Entomologicae'' 12: 239–275, p. 255.] hu, Pieninek) 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 ari ...
in the south 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 populou ...
and the north of
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 ...
. It is classified within the
eastern section of the Western Beskids.
The Pieniny mountain range is divided into three parts – ''Pieniny Spiskie'' ( sk, Spišské Pieniny) and ''Pieniny Właściwe'' (Slovak: ''Centrálne Pieniny'') in Poland; and, ''Małe Pieniny'' ( en, Lesser or Little Pieniny; sk, Malé Pieniny) in Poland and Slovakia. The Pieniny mountains consist mainly of beds of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
and
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
. The most famous peak, ''
Trzy Korony'' (Three Crowns), is 982 metres high. It is also the summit of the Three Crowns
Massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
. Pieniny's highest peak – ''Wysoka'' (Polish); ''Vysoké Skalky'' (Slovak) – reaches 1,050 metres
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
Th ...
.
Pieniny mountains formed at the bottom of the sea in several geological epochs. They were folded and raised in Upper
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
. At the beginning of the
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
geologic period a second wave of tectonic movements took place causing a further shift. The third wave of movements during the
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
and
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
resulted in a more complex tectonic structure. At the same time
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...
resulted in stripping of the outer mantle rocks and further modeling of terrain. Peaks were built from weather resistant
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
rocks, mainly limestone. Valleys and passes were created from softer and more susceptible to weathering rocks of
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
and Paleogene periods. Caves are few and rather small. By contrast, rivers and streams are often deeply indented in the rock, creating approximately 15 ravines and gorges. The most famous gorges of the Pieniny mountains are the
Dunajec River Gorge in
Pieniny National Park and the Homole Ravine ( pl, Wąwóz Homole). Hills along the northern border of Pieniny are of
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...
origin.
Image gallery
Image:Rafting on the Dunajec River.jpg, Trzy Korony and Facimiech Mountain
Image:Kiczera a2.jpg, Kiczera and Magura Spiska. View from Wysokie Skały
Image:Dunajec a5.jpg, 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
Image:Niedzica-04(tż).jpg, Niedzica Castle and Czorsztyn Lake
See also
*
Pieniny National Park (Poland)
*
Pieniny National Park (Slovakia)
*
Dunajec River Gorge
*
Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz
*
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, Lu ...
References
External links
www.pieniny.sk/en.htmlPieniny Mountains at www.pieniny.usPieniny Mountains at info-poland.buffalo.eduPieniny at www.travelia.sk
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Poland
Mountain ranges of Slovakia
Landforms of Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians