The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are 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 aris ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, which belongs to the

Western Romanian Carpathians The Western Romanian Carpathians (, ), along with the Eastern Romanian Carpathians and the Southern Carpathians is one of the three main mountain ranges of Romania. Their name is given based on their geographical position, west, to the Transylvan ...

. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have about 400

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

Geography

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

Crișana Crișana (, , ) is a geographical and historical region of Romania named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Romania, the term is sometimes extended to include areas ...

and the

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

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

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic masses of the Detunata () near

Abrud Abrud (;Ștefan Pascu: A History of Transylvania, Dorset Press, 1990, , ; ) is a town in the north-western part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, located on the river Abrud. It administers three villages: Abrud-Sat (''Abrudfalva''), Gura C ...

; 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 Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

; the northernmost chain is the Seș and Meseș Mountains.

Boundaries

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

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...

. *To the east: the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

. *To the west: the

plains.

Subdivisions

*''

Criș Mountains Criș may refer to several places: Localities in Romania * Criș, a village in Blăjeni Commune, Hunedoara County * Criș, a village in Daneș Commune, Mureș County Rivers in Romania * Körös, (Romanian: ''Criș''), in western Romania and so ...

(Munţii Crișului, )'' : **

Criș Hills Criș may refer to several places: Localities in Romania * Criș, a village in Blăjeni Commune, Hunedoara County * Criș, a village in Daneș Commune, Mureș County Rivers in Romania * Körös, (Romanian: ''Criș''), in western Romania and so ...

(''Dealurile Crișene'', ), including the

Beiuș Depression Beiuș (; ) is a city in Bihor County, Romania near the Apuseni Mountains. The river Crișul Negru flows through Beiuș, and the city administers a single village, Delani (''Gyalány''). Between the late 18th and very early 20th centuries, Beiu� ...

(''Depresiunea Beiuș'', ) and the

Vad Depression VAD may refer to: Physiology, medicine etc. *Vascular dementia (VaD), dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain *Vertebral artery dissection, the development of a flap-like tear in the vertebral artery *Ventricular assist dev ...

(''Depresiunea Vad'', ) **

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 moun ...

(literally:''Forest of the King'', ) **

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 is a country located at ...

(''Munții Codru-Moma'', ) *'' Seș-Meseș Mountains (Munții Seș-Meseșului)'': **

Meseș Mountains The Meseș Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Apuseni Mountains. The highest peak is , at . The mountains are located in Sălaj and Cluj counties, south of Zalău and northwest of Cluj-Napoca. The ...

(''Munții Meseșului'', ) ** Seș Mountains (''Muntele Seș'', , also ''Plopiș'') ** Șimleu Depression (''Depresiunea Șimleu Silvanei'', ), often considered part of the Transylvanian Basin-Podişul Someşan **

Șimleu Mountains The Șimleu Mountains () is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which bel ...

(''Munții Șimleu'', ), often considered part of the Transylvanian Basin-Podişul Someşan * Bihor Massif (''Masivul Bihor'', ): ** Bihor Mountains (''Munții Bihorului'', ) ** Vlădeasa Mountains (''Munții Vlădeasa'', ) ** Muntele Mare Mountains (literally: ''Big Mountain''), (''Munții Muntele Mare'', ) **Gilău Mountains (''Munții Gilăului'', ) * Mureș Mountains (''Munții Mureșului'', ): **

Zarand Mountains Zarand may refer to: * Zarand, Iran, a city in Kerman Province, Iran * Zarand, Qazvin, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Zarand, Zanjan, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran * Zarand County Zarand County () is in Kerman Kerman (; ) ...

(''Munții Zarandului'', ) ** Metalliferous Mountains (''Munții Metaliferi'', ) ** Trascău Mountains (''Munții Trascăului'', )

Gallery

File:Pietrele Albe.jpg, Vlădeasa File:Székelykő.JPG, Piatra Secuiului File:Székelykő-Torockó.JPG File:Gallery above Mina Rudolf, Turda salt mine, Turda, 2017.jpg,

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

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

Photos from Apuseni Mountains

Tourist attractions in Apuseni MountainsWebsite with information about the Carpathians MountainsApuseni Mountains - photographs + information in Czech
* {{Coord, 46, 30, N, 23, 00, E, display=title, region:RO_type:mountain_source:dewiki Mountain ranges of Romania Mountain ranges of the Western Romanian Carpathians Western Romanian Carpathians