Pieniny
Encyclopedia
Pieniny is a mountain range
in the south of Poland
and the north of Slovakia
.
The Pieniny mountain range is divided into three parts – Pieniny Spiskie and Pieniny Właściwe (Slovak: Centrálne Pieniny) in Poland; and, Malé Pieniny (Lesser or Little Pieniny; ) in Slovakia. The Pieniny mountains consist mainly of the limestone
and dolomite
rock
strata. The most famous peak, Trzy Korony
(Three Crowns), is 982 meters high. It is also the summit of the Three Crowns Massif
. Pieniny’s highest peak – Wysoka (Polish); Vysoké Skalky (Slovak) – reaches 1,050 meters above sea level.
Pieniny mountains formed at the bottom of the sea in several geological epochs. They were folded and raised in Upper Cretaceous
. At the beginning of the Tertiary
geologic period a second wave of tectonic movements took place causing a further shift. The third wave of movements during the Paleogene
and Neogene
resulted in a more complex tectonic structure. At the same time erosion
resulted in stripping of the outer mantle rocks and further modeling of terrain. Peaks were built from weather resistant Jurassic
rocks, mainly limestone. Valleys and passes were created from softer and more susceptible to weathering rocks of Cretaceous
and Paleogene periods. Caves are few and rather small. By contrast, rivers and streams are often deeply indented in the rock, creating approximately 15 ravines and gorges. The most famous gorges of the Pieniny mountains are the Dunajec River Gorge
in Pieniny National Park
and the Homole Ravine . Hills along the northern border of Pieniny are of volcanic origin.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in the south of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the north of Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
.
The Pieniny mountain range is divided into three parts – Pieniny Spiskie and Pieniny Właściwe (Slovak: Centrálne Pieniny) in Poland; and, Malé Pieniny (Lesser or Little Pieniny; ) in Slovakia. The Pieniny mountains consist mainly of the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
strata. The most famous peak, Trzy Korony
Trzy Korony
Trzy Korony is the summit of the Three Crowns Massif, an independent portion of a range called Pieniny Mountains in the south of Poland. Trzy Korony forms the central part of a compact group of connected mountains known as Pieniny Środkowe, consisting mainly of the limestone and dolomite rock strata...
(Three Crowns), is 982 meters high. It is also the summit of the Three Crowns Massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
. Pieniny’s highest peak – Wysoka (Polish); Vysoké Skalky (Slovak) – reaches 1,050 meters above sea level.
Pieniny mountains formed at the bottom of the sea in several geological epochs. They were folded and raised in Upper Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
. At the beginning of the Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
geologic period a second wave of tectonic movements took place causing a further shift. The third wave of movements during the Paleogene
Paleogene
The Paleogene is a geologic period and system that began 65.5 ± 0.3 and ended 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic Era...
and Neogene
Neogene
The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...
resulted in a more complex tectonic structure. At the same time erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
resulted in stripping of the outer mantle rocks and further modeling of terrain. Peaks were built from weather resistant Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
rocks, mainly limestone. Valleys and passes were created from softer and more susceptible to weathering rocks of Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
and Paleogene periods. Caves are few and rather small. By contrast, rivers and streams are often deeply indented in the rock, creating approximately 15 ravines and gorges. The most famous gorges of the Pieniny mountains are the Dunajec River Gorge
Dunajec River Gorge
The Dunajec River Gorge runs through the Pieniny Mountains in the south of Poland and the north of Slovakia . The gorge is characterized by some of the most interesting geological and geomorphological structures and area-specific natural ecosystems with little anthropogenic influence...
in Pieniny National Park
Pieniny National Park (Poland)
Pieniny National Park is a protected area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland, in the heart of the Pieniny Mountains.- The location :...
and the Homole Ravine . Hills along the northern border of Pieniny are of volcanic origin.