The North Hungarian Mountains ( hu, Északi-középhegység), sometimes also referred to as the Northeast Hungarian Mountains, Northeast Mountains, North Hungarian Highlands, North Hungarian Mid-Mountains or North Hungarian Range, is the northern, mountainous part of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. It forms a geographical unity with the Mátra-Slanec Area, the adjacent parts 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 s ...

. It is a separate geomorphological area within the

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wit ...

. The mountains run along the northeastern border of Hungary as well as eastern parts of the Hungarian–Slovak border in broadband from the

Danube Bend The Danube Bend ( hu, Dunakanyar) is a curve of the Danube in Hungary, close to the town of Visegrád. Geology The present-day U-shaped loop is probably the result of an eruption of the volcano stretching over the whole area some 15 million y ...

to the town of Prešov.

Subdivisions

The area consists of the following geomorphological units: *

Börzsöny Börzsöny (; sk, Novohradské hory, New City Mountains) is a mountain range in Northern Hungary. Its tallest peak is the Csóványos with . It is the westernmost member of the North Hungarian Mountains, which belongs to the Inner Western Car ...

Regional Map Series of Hungary
( hu, Börzsöny + Burda (SK) * Gödöllő Hills ( hu, Gödöllői-dombság) *

Cserhát Cserhát () is a mountain range in Hungary, part of the North Hungarian Mountains, divided between Pest and Nógrád counties. Its highest point is the Naszály with an elevation of 654 metres above sea level. Cserhát stretches from Cserhá ...

* Karancs- Medves area + Cerová Highlands (SK) *

Mátra The Mátra ( sk, Matra) is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető (1014 m), belongs to this mountain range. The Mátra is part of the North Hungarian Mountains ...

( hu, Mátra) *

Bükk The Bükk Mountains () are a section of the North Hungarian Mountains of the Inner Western Carpathians. Much of the area is included in the Bükk National Park. Geography Although Kékes, the highest point in Hungary, is not here but in the ...

( hu, Bükk or "''Bükk hegység''" – literally '' Beech (Mountains)'') * Zemplén Mountains or Tokaj Mountains ( hu, Zempléni-hegység, Tokaji-hegység) Ranges of the adjacent Mátra-Slanec Area in Slovakia: * Slanec Mountains ( sk, Slanské vrchy) * Zemplín Mountains ( sk, Zemplínske vrchy)

Description

The North Hungarian Mountains begin with the mountain range of

, adjacent to the Danube Bend, where it meets the

Transdanubian Mountains __NOTOC__ The Transdanubian Mountains (sometimes also referred to as ''Bakony Forest, Dunántúl Highlands, Highlands of Dunántúl, Highlands of Transdanubia, Mountains of Dunántúl, Mountains of Transdanubia, Transdanubian Central Range, Tra ...

. The Börzsöny range is about 600 km² in area, and mainly 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 plates a ...

origin. The highest peak is the Csóványos (938 m). The next range towards the east is the

, with the same geological composition as the

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 dis ...

here was more severe: these are mere hills and comprise the lowest part of the North Hungarian Mountains. The highest point is Naszály (654 m).

Kékes Kékes is Hungary's highest mountain, at above sea level. It lies northeast of Gyöngyös, in the Mátra range of Heves county. It is Hungary's third most popular tourist attraction, after Lake Balaton and the Danube, and has a number of ho ...

, the country's highest peak at 1014 meters, is located in the next range,

. However, the range's average height is only 600 meters, less than that of the neighboring

. Mátra is also of

origin. The

is a

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 whe ...

range; it has the highest average height in

. It is rich in caves, some of which were inhabited in ancient times. The

Aggtelek Karst Aggtelek Karst is a karst area in northern Hungary. The area is especially well known for its abundance of caves, which were recorded together with those in neighboring Slovakia in 1995 to the list of World Heritage Site under the name of the ...

area is a geologic formation spanning the Hungarian-Slovakian border, and the reason for the

Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst The Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst is a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of 712 caves spread out over a total area of along the border of Hungary and Slovakia. Background This UNESCO World Heritage site includes seven component ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, and the Hungarian Aggtelek National Park.

's a most popular cave, the Baradla, is located there. The Zemplén Mountains are again of volcanic origin; the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

's high-quality favors

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

Natural resources

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

fertile soil Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

* lignite *

National parks

* Aggtelek National Park (established in 1985) *

Bükk National Park Bükk National Park ( hu, Bükki Nemzeti Park) is a national park in the Bükk Mountains of Northern Hungary, near Miskolc. It was founded in 1977 as the third national park in the country. It contains 431.3 km2 (of which 37.74 km2 is u ...

(established in 1976) * Danube-Ipoly National Park (established in 1997)

Protected areas

* Hollókő (since 1977) * East Cserhát (since 1989) * Karancs-Medves (since 1989) *

(since 1985) * Tarnavidék (since 1993) * Lázbérc (since 1975) * Tokaj-Bodrogzug (since 1986) * Zemplén (since 1984)

Images

File:Kekesteto2.JPG,

mountains Image:Hungary Baradla.jpg, Aggtelek National Park – Baradla Cave Image:Kekesteto1.JPG, The highest peak,

References

{{coord, 47.883333, N, 19.95, E, source:itwiki_region:HU, format=dms, display=title Mountain ranges of Hungary Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians