The North Hungarian Mountains (), 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 is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

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

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 ...

. 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 w ...

. 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 to the town of

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

Subdivisions

The area consists of the following geomorphological units: *

Börzsöny Börzsöny (; or ''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 Weste ...

Regional Map Series of Hungary
( + Burda (SK) * Gödöllő Hills () * Cserhát * Karancs- Medves area + Cerová Highlands (SK) *

Mátra The Mátra () 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. Formation Pre-volcanic formations The formation of the 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 t ...

( or "''Bükk hegység''" – literally ''

Beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

(Mountains)'') *

Zemplén Mountains Zemplén Mountains () or Tokaj Mountains (; or Tokaji-hegység) is a mountain range in Hungary. The Zemplén Mountains form part of the Tokaj-Eperjes mountain chain in Hungary, known for their ecological richness and historical significance. Ge ...

or Tokaj Mountains () Ranges of the adjacent Mátra-Slanec Area in Slovakia: * Slanec Mountains () * Zemplín Mountains ()

Description

The North Hungarian Mountains begin with the mountain range of

, adjacent to the Danube Bend, where it meets the Transdanubian Mountains. The Börzsöny range is about 600 km² in area, and mainly of

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure 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 fo ...

origin. The highest peak is the Csóványos (938 m). The next range towards the east is the Cserhát, with the same geological composition as the

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

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 in the Mátra mountain range. It is Hungary's third most popular tourist attraction, after Lake Balaton and the Danube, and has a number of skiing pistes. The Kékestető TV Tower s ...

, 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 is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

range; it has the highest average height in

. It is rich in caves, some of which were inhabited in ancient times. The Aggtelek Karst area is a geologic formation spanning the Hungarian-Slovakian border, and the reason for the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, and the Hungarian Aggtelek National Park.

's a most popular cave, the Baradla, is located there. The

are again of volcanic origin; the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

's high-quality favors

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing 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 (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

* fertile soil *

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

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), 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 ...

National parks

* Aggtelek National Park (established in 1985) *

Bükk National Park Bükk National 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 under increased protecti ...

(established in 1976) *

Danube-Ipoly National Park Danube-Ipoly National Park is one of the most diverse national parks in Hungary. Background In 1997, the park was created from Pilis and Börzsöny national parks, with the addition of part of the floodplain of the River Ipoly. This park encompa ...

(established in 1997)

Protected areas

Hollókő Hollókő () is a village in northern Hungary, located in Nógrád County. The village, which was constructed in the 13th century and developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, is a well-preserved ethnographic village of the Palóc people, with tra ...

(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