The Poiana Ruscă Mountains (part of the Western Carpathians) are a Carpathian mountain range in western

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 ...

. The mountains are situated roughly south of 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 ...

, northeast of the Timiș River, and west of the Strei River. The Bega River emerges from these mountains. The nearest large towns are

Lugoj Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; ; ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș (''Grós''), Hășdat (''Hosdát ...

, and Caransebeș. The Poiana Ruscă Mountains cover an area of about , having mean altitudes from . The highest summit is the , at .

Mining

The mountains contain resources such as

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

thorium Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...

and

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, and as such are the site of many mines. In the nineteenth century, the mountains were also centers of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, and

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

mining and production. However, after 1990 some mines were closed and others abandoned, leaving waste ore and radioactive mines still unprotected in the mountain range.

Divisions of the mountains

* Poiana Ruscă (literally: ''Ruscă Meadows'') * Lipova Plateau (''Podișul Lipovei'') * Bega-Timiș Groove (''Culoarul Bega-Timiș'') * Orăștie Groove (''Culoarul Orăștiei''), including the

Hațeg Depression Hațeg (; ; ) is a town in Hunedoara County, Romania with a population of 8,793 as of 2021. Three villages are administered by the town: Nălațvad (''Nalácvád''), Silvașu de Jos (''Alsószilvás''), and Silvașu de Sus (''Felsőszilvás''). I ...

(''Depresiunea Hațegului'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poiana Rusca Mountains Mountain ranges of Romania Mountain ranges of the Western Romanian Carpathians Western Romanian Carpathians