The Beskids or Beskid Mountains (, , , (), ()) are a series of mountain ranges in the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

, stretching from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in the west along the border of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

up to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in the east.Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Beskyds
/ref> The highest mountain in the Beskids is Hoverla, at .

Etymology

The origin of the name has not been conclusively established. A

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

or Illyrian origin has been suggested; however, as yet, no theory has majority support among linguists. The word appears in numerous mountain names throughout the Carpathians and the adjacent Balkan regions, like in Albanian . According to linguists Çabej and Orel, it is possibly derived from Proto-Albanian (meaning 'the mountain pastures'). The Slovak name refers to the Polish Bieszczady Mountains, which is not a synonym for the entire Beskids but one single range, belonging to the Eastern Beskids. According to another linguistic theory, it may be related to Middle Low German , , meaning ' watershed'. Historically, the term was used for hundreds of years to describe the mountain range separating the old

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

from the old

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. In 1269, the Beskids were known by the Latin name 'Beskid Mountains of Poland'.Kazimierz Zarzycki, Zbigniew Głowaciński (1986): Bieszczady (p. 7)
/ref>

Definition

The Beskids are approximately in length and in width. They stand mainly along the southern border of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

with northern Slovakia, stretching to the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and Czech Silesia regions of the eastern Czech Republic and to

Carpathian Ruthenia Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...

in western Ukraine. Parts form the European Watershed, separating the Oder and

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

basins in the north from the Eastern Slovak Lowland, part of the Great Hungarian Plain drained by the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

River. Geologically all of the Beskids stand within the Outer Western Carpathians and the Outer Eastern Carpathians. In the west they begin at the natural pass of the Moravian Gate, which separates them from the Eastern Sudetes, continue east in a band to the north of the Tatra Mountains, and end in

. The eastern termination of the Beskids is disputed. According to older sources, the Beskids end at the source of the Tisza River, while newer sources state that the Beskids end at the Uzhok Pass at the Polish–Ukrainian border.

Subdivisions

Multiple traditions, languages and nationalities have developed overlapping variants for the divisions and names of the Beskid ranges. According to the divisions of the Carpathians, they are categorized within:

Western Beskids

* Western Beskids (, , ) **Western section of the Western Beskids: *** Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains () → e1 *** Moravian-Silesian Beskids (, ) → e2 *** Turzovka Highlands () → e3 *** Jablunkov Furrow () → e4 *** Rožnov Furrow () → e5 *** Jablunkov Intermontane (, ) → e6 *** Silesian Beskids (, ) → e7 *** Żywiec Basin () → e8 **Northern section of the Western Beskids: *** Little Beskids () → f1 *** Maków Beskids () → f2 *** Island Beskids () → f3 *** Gorce Mountains () → f4 *** Rabka Basin () → f5 *** Sącz Basin () → f6 ** Central section of the Western Beskids: *** Orava Beskids () + Żywiec Beskids () (the older Slovak equivalent of is 'Slovak Beskids' or 'Kysuce-Orava Beskids') → g1 *** Kysuce Beskids () + Żywiec Beskids () (the older Slovak equivalent of is or ) → g2 *** Orava Magura () → g3 *** Orava Highlands () → g4 *** Sub-Beskidian Furrow () → g5 *** Sub-Beskidian Highlands () → g6 ** Eastern section of the Western Beskids: *** Beskid Sądecki () → h1 *** Čergov (; ) → h2 *** Pieniny (; ) → h3 * West Beskidian Foothills, in the Czech Republic and Poland ** Silesian-Moravian Foothills (, ) → d1 ** Silesian Foothills () → d2 ** Wieliczka Foothills () → d3 ** Wiśnicz Foothills () → d4

Central Beskids

* Central Beskids () or Low Beskids () ** Busov, in Slovakia ** Ondava Highlands () **''Low Beskid'' () + Laborec Highlands () ** Beskidian Southern Foothills () * Central Beskidian Piedmont, in Poland ** Rożnów Piedmont () ** Ciężkowice Piedmont () **

Strzyżów Piedmont Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzeszów. ...

() ** Dynów Piedmont () ** Przemyśl Piedmont () ** Gorlice Depression () ** Jasło-Krosno Basin () ** Jasło Piedmont () ** Bukowsko Piedmont ()

Eastern Beskids

Eastern Beskids are divided into two parallel ridges: Wooded Beskids and Polonynian Beskids. * Wooded Beskids (; ) ** Bieszczady Mountains (; ) → c1 ** Sanok-Turka Mountains (; ) → c3 **

Skole Beskids The Skole Beskids (; ) is a mountain range in western Ukraine, belonging to the set of ranges called the Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. The mountains are composed primary ...

(; ) → c2 ** Gorgany (; ) → c4 ** Pokuttia-Bucovina Beskids (; ) → c5 * Polonynian Beskids (; ) ** Smooth Polonyna () → c6 ** Polonyna Borzhava () → c7 ** Polonyna Kuk () → c8 ** Red Polonyna ()→ c9 ** Svydovets () → c10 **

Chornohora Chornohora () is the highest mountain range in Ukraine, Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern Beskids, which in turn is part of the Oute ...

() → c11 ** Hrynyavy Mountains () → c12

Infrastructure

The Beskids are currently rich in

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

. In the past they were rich in

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

, with important plants in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

and Třinec – Třinec Iron and Steel Works. There are many tourist attractions, including historic wooden churches (see Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland, Carpathian Wooden Churches of Slovakia, and Wooden Churches of Ukraine) and the increasingly popular

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

resorts. A number of environmental groups support a small but growing population of bears, wolves and lynx in the ecosystem of the Beskidy mountains. The Central Beskids include the Polish Babia Góra National Park and the adjacent Slovak Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area.

Gallery

File:Beskid Mountains division map.svg, Map of the Beskid ranges in Slovakia and Poland File:Czantoria - widok z wiezy widokowej 09.JPG, Czantoria, Silesian Beskids File:Beskidy Bieszczady SE.jpg, Western Bieszczady File:Bieszczady1.jpg, Western Bieszczady File:New granite sculpture of Radegast.jpg, Statue of " Radegast" on a Czech Beskids File:Zabytkowa cerkiew wpisana na listę UNESCO.jpg, Wooden church in Kwiatoń File:OV-Hrabova.JPG, Wooden church in Hrabova, Moravia (14th century – 1564) File:Koniaków miyszani owiec (redyk wiosenny) 04.jpg, Shepherds in Silesian Beskids File:Beskid Wyspowy a10.jpg, Island Beskids File:Дорога до церкви.jpg, Beskids in Skolivskyi, Ukraine

Citations

General and cited sources

* * * * * Świstuń, Filip
''Galicyjskie Beskidy i Karpaty Lesiste: Zarys orograficzn''
Rzeszow, 1876. *

External links

Carpathian Mountains: Division (map)
{{Authority control Geography of Lviv Oblast Lesser Poland Voivodeship Moravian-Silesian Region Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Carpathians Mountain ranges of the Czech Republic Mountain ranges of Ukraine Silesian Voivodeship