Beskids


The Beskids or Beskid Mountains, ) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west along the border of Poland with Slovakia up to Ukraine in the east.
The highest mountain in the Beskids is Hoverla, at.

Etymology

The origin of the name beskydy has not been conclusively established. A Thracian or Illyrian origin has been suggested; however, as yet, no theory has majority support among linguists. The word appears in numerous mountain names throughout the Carpathians and the adjacent Balkan regions, like in Albanian bjeshkë. According to linguists Çabej and Orel, it is possibly derived from Proto-Albanian *beškāi tāi. The Slovak name Beskydy refers to the Polish Bieszczady Mountains, which is not a synonym for the entire Beskids but one single range, belonging to the Eastern Beskids. According to another linguistic theory, it may be related to Middle Low German beshêt, beskēt, meaning 'watershed'.
Historically, the term was used for hundreds of years to describe the mountain range separating the old Kingdom of Hungary from the old Kingdom of Poland. In 1269, the Beskids were known by the Latin name Beschad Alpes Poloniae 'Beskid Mountains of Poland'.

Definition

The Beskids are approximately in length and in width. They stand mainly along the southern border of Lesser Poland with northern Slovakia, stretching to the Moravia and Czech Silesia regions of the eastern Czech Republic and to Carpathian Ruthenia in western Ukraine. Parts form the European Watershed, separating the Oder and Vistula basins in the north from the Eastern Slovak Lowland, part of the Great Hungarian Plain drained by the Danube River.
Geologically all of the Beskids stand within the Outer Western Carpathians and the Outer Eastern Carpathians. In the west they begin at the natural pass of the Moravian Gate, which separates them from the Eastern Sudetes, continue east in a band to the north of the Tatra Mountains, and end in Ukraine. The eastern termination of the Beskids is disputed. According to older sources, the Beskids end at the source of the Tisza River, while newer sources state that the Beskids end at the Uzhok Pass at the Polish–Ukrainian border.

Subdivisions

Multiple traditions, languages and nationalities have developed overlapping variants for the divisions and names of the Beskid ranges. According to the divisions of the Carpathians, they are categorized within:

Western Beskids

  • Western Beskids
  • *Western section of the Western Beskids:
  • **Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains → e1
  • **Moravian-Silesian Beskids → e2
  • **Turzovka Highlands → e3
  • **Jablunkov Furrow → e4
  • **Rožnov Furrow → e5
  • **Jablunkov Intermontane → e6
  • **Silesian Beskids → e7
  • **Żywiec Basin → e8
  • *Northern section of the Western Beskids:
  • **Little Beskids → f1
  • **Maków Beskids → f2
  • **Island Beskids → f3
  • **Gorce Mountains → f4
  • **Rabka Basin → f5
  • **Sącz Basin → f6
  • *Central section of the Western Beskids:
  • **Orava Beskids + Żywiec Beskids → g1
  • **Kysuce Beskids +Żywiec Beskids → g2
  • **Orava Magura → g3
  • **Orava Highlands → g4
  • **Sub-Beskidian Furrow → g5
  • **Sub-Beskidian Highlands → g6
  • *Eastern section of the Western Beskids:
  • **Beskid Sądecki → h1
  • **Čergov → h2
  • **Pieniny → h3
  • West Beskidian Foothills, in the Czech Republic and Poland
  • *Silesian-Moravian Foothills → d1
  • *Silesian Foothills → d2
  • *Wieliczka Foothills → d3
  • *Wiśnicz Foothills → d4

    Central Beskids

  • Central Beskids or Low Beskids
  • *Busov, in Slovakia
  • *Ondava Highlands
  • *Low Beskid + Laborec Highlands
  • *Beskidian Southern Foothills
  • Central Beskidian Piedmont, in Poland
  • *Rożnów Piedmont
  • *Ciężkowice Piedmont
  • *Strzyżów Piedmont
  • *Dynów Piedmont
  • *Przemyśl Piedmont
  • *Gorlice Depression
  • *Jasło-Krosno Basin
  • *Jasło Piedmont
  • *Bukowsko Piedmont

    Eastern Beskids

are divided into two parallel ridges: Wooded Beskids and Polonynian Beskids.
  • Wooded Beskids
  • *Bieszczady Mountains → c1
  • *Sanok-Turka Mountains → c3
  • *Skole Beskids → c2
  • *Gorgany → c4
  • *Pokuttia-Bucovina Beskids → c5
  • Polonynian Beskids
  • *Smooth Polonyna → c6
  • *Polonyna Borzhava → c7
  • *Polonyna Kuk → c8
  • *Red Polonyna → c9
  • *Svydovets → c10
  • *Chornohora → c11
  • *Hrynyavy Mountains → c12

    Infrastructure

The Beskids are currently rich in forest and coal. In the past they were rich in iron ore, with important plants in Ostrava and Třinec – Třinec Iron and Steel Works.
There are many tourist attractions, including historic wooden churches and the increasingly popular skiing resorts.
A number of environmental groups support a small but growing population of bears, wolves and lynx in the ecosystem of the Beskidy mountains. The Central Beskids include the Polish Babia Góra National Park and the adjacent Slovak Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area.

General and cited sources

  • Świstuń, Filip. . Rzeszow, 1876.
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