The Defileul Jiului National Park ( ro, Parcul Naţional Defileul Jiului) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

(

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

category II

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

) situated 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 ...

on the administrative territory of counties

Gorj Gorj County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gor(no)-'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”). Demographics In 2011, the county had a ...

(92%) and

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș ...

(8%).

Location

The National Park is located along the gorge formed by the

Jiu River The Jiu (; hu, Zsil ; german: Schil or Schiel; la, Rabon) is a river in southern Romania. It is formed near Petroșani by the confluence of headwaters Jiul de Vest and Jiul de Est. It flows southward through the Romanian counties Hunedoara, Go ...

between the

Vâlcan Mountains The Vâlcan Mountains are a chain of mountains in the Southern Carpathians in Gorj County, Romania. They are part of the Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group. They run for approximately and the highest peak is the Vâlcan Peak at . The mountains run th ...

and

Parâng Mountains The Parâng Mountains (; hu, Páring-hegység) are one of the highest mountain ridges in Romania and Southern Carpathians, with the highest peak, Parângu Mare, reaching 2,519 m. Description The Parâng Mountains are located in the south-western ...

(subgroup of mountains in the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the P ...

) in the northern part of Gorj county.

Description

Defileul Jiului National Park with an area of 11.127 ha was declared protected area by the ''Government Decision Number 1581 in 2005'' (published in Romanian Official Paper Number 38 on January 12, 2006) posmediutm.ro - Ministerul Mediului şi Pădurilor - Legislaţie
; retrieved on June 08, 2012 and represents an area what shelters a large variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

References

National parks of Romania Geography of Gorj County Geography of Hunedoara County Protected areas established in 2005 Tourist attractions in Gorj County Tourist attractions in Hunedoara County {{Europe-protected-area-stub