The Tăușoare-Zalion Reserve is a

cave system A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

located in the deeply forested areas of the

Rodna Mountains Rodna Mountains ( ro, Munții Rodnei, hu, Radnai-havasok) are a subdivision of the Inner Eastern Carpathians in northern Romania. The name comes from the nearby Rodna Veche village. At , is the highest peak in all of the Eastern Carpathians. T ...

Bistrița-Năsăud County Bistrița-Năsăud () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Bistrița. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Beszterce-Naszód megye'', and in German language, German as ''Kreis Bistritz-N ...

, in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. The Tăușoare Cave was discovered in 1955 by a teacher, Leon Bârte. Located at an altitude of , it has a length of and a depth of , making it the deepest and the third longest cave in Romania. The protected underground area covers . The cave features rare minerals, such as

mirabilite Mirabilite, also known as Glauber's salt, is a hydrous sodium sulfate mineral with the chemical formula Na2SO4·10H2O. It is a vitreous, colorless to white monoclinic mineral that forms as an evaporite from sodium sulfate-bearing brines. It is fo ...

and

anthodite Anthodites (Greek ἄνθος ''ánthos'', "flower", ''-ode'', adjectival combining form, ''-ite'' adjectival suffix) are speleothems (cave formations) composed of long needle-like crystals situated in clusters which radiate outward from a common ...

s, being second in Romania in value of anthodites, after the Peștera Vântului in the

Pădurea Craiului Mountains The Pădurea Craiului Mountains are in the northwestern part of the Apuseni Mountains of the Carpathian Mountain range, located between the and the Beiuș Depression. The Dealurile Vestice (Western Hills) are located to the west of these mounta ...

References

External links

Tăușoare-Zalion Reserve
(archived at the Wayback Machine)
National Agency for Protected Natural Areas - Romania
Caves of Romania Geography of Bistrița-Năsăud County {{Romania-stub