The Slovak Ore Mountains ( sk, Slovenské rudohorie , hu, Gömör–Szepesi-érchegység, german: Slowakisches Erzgebirge or Zips-Gemer-Erzgebirge) are an extensive
mountain range within the
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 ...
, located mostly in
Slovakia's
Spiš and
Gemer region, with a small part in northern
Hungary. It is the largest mountain range in Slovakia. Geomorphologically, the Slovak Ore Mountains belong to the
Inner Western Carpathians.
The mountains are bordered by
Zvolen in the west,
Košice
Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
in the east, the rivers
Hron and
Hornád in the north, and the ''Juhoslovenská kotlina'' and
Košice Basin (''Košická kotlina'') in the south. The region includes the
Domica Cave (jaskyňa Domica), one of the largest caves in Europe, Zádiel canyon and
Krásna Hôrka Castle.
Subdivision
Geomorphologically, the Slovak Ore Mountains are grouped within the
Inner Western Carpathians. The mountains do not have a central ridge - they consist of several independent sections, geomorphological regions:
[Mazúr, E., Lukniš M., 1986: ''Geomorfologické členenie SSR a ČSSR.'' Časť Slovensko. Slovenská kartografia, Bratislava]
*
Vepor Mountains (''Veporské vrchy'')
*
Spiš-Gemer Karst
The Spiš-Gemer Karst (Slovak: ''Spišsko-gemerský kras'', Hungarian: ''Szepes-gömöri karszt'') is a part (a geomorphological area) in the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains.
It consists of these two entities, both of which have been declared na ...
(''Spišsko-gemerský kras'')
*
(''Stolické vrchy'')
*
Revúca Highlands
Revúca (; formerly ''Veľká Revúca'' in Slovak; german: Groß-Rauschenbach; hu, Nagyrőce) is a town in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia. Revúca is the seat of Revúca District.
Etymology
The name is of Slovak origin and was initially th ...
(''Revúcka vrchovina'')
*
Volovec Mountains (''Volovské vrchy'')
*
Black Mountain
Black Mountain may refer to:
Places Australia
* Black Mountain (Australian Capital Territory), a mountain in Canberra
* Black Mountain, New South Wales, a village in Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales
* Black Mountain, Queensland, a loca ...
(''Čierna hora'')
*
Rožňava Basin (''Rožňavská kotlina'')
*
Slovak Karst (''Slovenský kras'') and
Aggtelek Karst (Hungarian: ''Aggteleki-karszt''; lies in northern
Hungary)
Characteristics
Basic data:
* highest peak:
Stolica, 1,476 m
AMSL
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 ...
* length: app. 140 km
* width: app. 40 km
* area: app. 4000 km
2
Since this is a very extensive geomorphological unit, no general characterization is appropriate. The geomorphological structure is varied and has
crystalline,
Mesozoic and volcanic rocks.
Since
time immemorial, especially in the
early modern period, the mountains were, as the name suggests, heavily mined but are not any more.
Protected areas
Slovenské rudohorie contains the
Muránska planina National Park,
Slovak Karst National Park and
Slovak Paradise National Park.
References
Mountain ranges of Slovakia
Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians
Spiš
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