Eastern Carpathian Foothills as a geographical term designates transitional region in the western parts of Ukraine and northeastern parts of Romania, between
Eastern Carpathian Mountains
Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system.
Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya ...
to the southwest and number of plain regions to the east and north (bordering Moldavian Plateau to the southeast and east,
Podillia Upland
The Podolian Upland (Podolian Plateau) or Podillia Upland ( uk, подільська височина, ''podilska vysochyna'') is a highland area in southwestern Ukraine, on the left (northeast) bank of the Dniester River, with small portions in ...
to the northeast and east,
Roztochia Upland
Roztocze ( uk, Розточчя, ''Roztochia'') is a range of hills in east-central Poland and western Ukraine which rises from the Lublin Upland and extends southeastward through Solska Forest and across the border into Ukrainian Podolia. Low and ...
to the north, Sian Lowland to the northwest). Its average elevation is around
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...
Suceava County
Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper.
The county seat is the historical town ...
.
Description
The region represents a portion of a large foredeep (
Carpathian Foredeep
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...
) that formed during the Miocene epoch in front of the folding
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
. The outer zone of the foredeep has as its foundation the Podolian Platform; the inner zone consists of severely dislocated flysch deposits. The foredeep itself is filled with thick Miocene deposits of clays, argillites, calcareous clays, and sandstones covered by
diluvial
Diluvium is an archaic term applied during the 1800s to widespread surficial deposits of sediments that could not be explained by the historic action of rivers and seas. Diluvium was initially argued to have been deposited by the action of extra ...
Pliocene epoch
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58peneplain covered by
fluvial
In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
deposits of sand, silt, and clay originating from the Carpathians. As a result of an uplift at the end of the Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene epoch the rivers intensified their erosion and sculpted into the surface a number of wide valleys, lowlands, and intervening ridges.
The uplift of Eastern Carpathian Foothills was not uniform, however, and the relief features are partly of tectonic origin. In the Dnieper glacial phase the northeastern part of Eastern Carpathian Foothills was occupied by a lobe of the
European continental glacier
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
, and the meltwaters temporarily ponded. By the end of the Pleistocene epoch the region was covered by deposits of
loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
. At present the rivers from the Carpathian Mountains, most notably the
Stryi River
The Stryi River ( uk, Стрий) starts in the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine. It snakes through the mountains running for 231 km (144 miles). After 193 km it passes Stryi. The river continues for another 32 km before ...
, carry silt and sand on to Eastern Carpathian Foothills and deposit them in their floodplains.
Bukovinian Subcarpathians
Bukovinian Subcarpathians ( ro, Subcarpații Bucovinei, ''Obcinele Bucovinei'') is a geographic area in the NNE of Romania (Suceava County) and SWW of Ukraine (Chernivtsi Oblast), situated to the east and north-east of the Eastern Carpathian Moun ...
**
Chernivtsi Upland
Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...
Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...
Ridges of Bukovina
Bukovinian Subcarpathians ( ro, Subcarpații Bucovinei, ''Obcinele Bucovinei'') is a geographic area in the NNE of Romania (Suceava County) and SWW of Ukraine (Chernivtsi Oblast), situated to the east and north-east of the Eastern Carpathian Mount ...