The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) 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 ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

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 ...

, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

. Their name translates from Romanian as Mountains "of the sunset", i.e., "western". The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have about 400

cave 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 ...

Geography

The Apuseni Mountains do not present an uninterrupted chain of mountains, but possess many low and easy passes towards the

Crișana Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and historical region in north-western Romania, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Rom ...

and the

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...

. Going from south to north the principal groups are: the Munții Metaliferi ("Ore Mountains") with the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic masses of the Detunata () near

Abrud Abrud ( la, Abruttus;Ștefan Pascu: A History of Transylvania, Dorset Press, 1990, , hu, Abrudbánya; german: Großschlatten) is a town in the north-western part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, located on the river Abrud. It administer ...

; the Bihor Mountains, with numerous

rns, with the highest peak the Bihorul (); to the east of this group are the Muntele Mare (highest peak ), to the southwest of

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

; the northernmost chain is the Seș and Meseș Mountains.

Boundaries

*To the north: the Barcău River. *To the south: the Mureș River. *To the east: the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a plateau in central Romania. The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the East ...

. *To the west: the

plains.

Subdivisions

*'' Criș Mountains (Munţii Crișului, hu, Körös-menti hegyvidék)'' : ** Criș Hills (''Dealurile Crișene'', hu, Körös-menti dombság), including the Beiuș Depression (''Depresiunea Beiuș'', hu, Belényesi-medence) and the Vad Depression (''Depresiunea Vad'', hu, Révi-medence) **

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 mou ...

(literally:''Forest of the King'', hu, Királyerdő-hegység) **

Codru-Moma Mountains The Codru-Moma Mountains (Munții Codru-Moma) are a part of the Apuseni Mountains. They are specifically located in the Arad and Bihor counties, within the Western Romanian Carpathians of Crișana, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a ...

(''Munții Codru-Moma'', hu, Béli-hegység) *'' Seș-Meseș Mountains (Munții Seș-Meseșului)'': ** Meseș Mountains (''Munții Meseșului'', hu, Meszes-hegység) ** Seș Mountains (''Muntele Seș'', hu, Réz-hegység, also ''Plopiș'') ** Șimleu Depression (''Depresiunea Șimleu Silvanei'', hu, Szilágysomlyói-medence), often considered part of the Transylvanian Basin-Podişul Someşan ** Șimleu Mountains (''Munții Șimleu'', hu, Szilágysági-dombvidék), often considered part of the Transylvanian Basin-Podişul Someşan * Bihor Massif (''Masivul Bihor'', hu, Bihari-havasok): ** Bihor Mountains (''Munții Bihorului'', hu, Bihar-hegység) ** Vlădeasa Mountains (''Munții Vlădeasa'', hu, Vlegyásza-hegység) ** Muntele Mare Mountains (literally: ''Big Mountain''), (''Munții Muntele Mare'', hu, Öreghavas) **Gilău Mountains (''Munții Gilăului'', hu, Gyalui-havasok) * Mureș Mountains (''Munții Mureșului'', hu, Marosmenti-hegyvidék): ** Zarand Mountains (''Munții Zarandului'', hu, Zarándi-hegység) ** Metalliferous Mountains (''Munții Metaliferi'', hu, Erdélyi-érchegység) ** Trascău Mountains (''Munții Trascăului'', hu, Torockói-hegység)

Gallery

File:Pietrele Albe.jpg, Vlădeasa File:Székelykő.JPG, Piatra Secuiului File:Székelykő-Torockó.JPG File:Salina Turda - galeria principală 8.jpg,

Salina Turda Salina Turda ( hu, Tordai sóbánya) is a salt mine in the Durgău-Valea Sărată area of Turda, the second largest city in Cluj County, northwest Romania. Opened for tourists in 1992, the Salina Turda mine was visited by about 618,000 Romanian ...

File:Cheile Turzii-(42).JPG, Cheile Turzii File:Arieseni 27.jpg, Arieșeni File:Cetatea Trascăului văzută de pe Piatra Secuiului.JPG, Cetatea Trascăului

References

External links