Gorce Mountains

The Gorce Mountains are part of the <a href="/facts/Western_Beskids/XlT6Bg7m">Western Beskids</a> mountain <a href="/facts/Mountain_range/L7vxtr7A">range</a> spreading across southernmost <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a>. They are situated in <a href="/facts/Lesser_Poland_Voivodeship/1UAyRtVJ">Małopolska Province</a>, at the western tip of the long <a href="/facts/Carpathian_Mountains/I3TkYUjj">Carpathian range</a> extending east beyond the <a href="/facts/Dunajec/kRjboM9M">Dunajec</a> River for some 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The Gorce are characterized by numerous ridges reaching in all directions for up to 40 kilometres (25 mi) east–west with a series of higher elevations cut by deep river valleys.
The range is dominated by about a dozen gentle peaks including Turbacz (the highest, at 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) above sea level) in the centre, and – facing east: Jaworzyna Kamienicka (1,288 metres (4,226 ft)), Kiczora (1,282 metres (4,206 ft)), Kudłoń (1,276 metres (4,186 ft)), Przysłop, Czoło and Gorc Kamienicki. The south-eastern ridge of the Gorce reaches the <a href="/facts/Pieniny/zRVwu7mE">Pieniny</a> range (cut off by the <a href="/facts/Ochotnica_Dolna/RU5Woyl7">Ochotnica pass</a>), with Lubań (1,225 metres (4,019 ft)) as its tallest peak followed by Pasterski Wierch, Runek and Marszałek. The north-west ridges include Obidowiec, and the peak of Suhora (1,000 m (3,300 ft)) featuring <a href="/facts/Mount_Suhora_Observatory/BC0buGIE">an astronomical observatory</a> owned and operated by the <a href="/facts/Pedagogical_University_of_Cracow/U30YVgEp">Pedagogical University</a> of <a href="/facts/Krak%C3%B3w/hubj59IT">Kraków</a>.
There are a number of smaller caves in the Gorce, carved out in <a href="/facts/Sedimentary_rock/HQDCjrco">sedimentary rock</a> and its <a href="/facts/Conglomerate_(geology)/llpnLX76">conglomerates</a> which form the <a href="/facts/Carpathian_Flysch_Belt/IqDc6kqE">Carpathian Flysch Belt</a>. High annual rainfall is caused by the air forced up by the mountains and accumulating into clouds. Rain water flows fast in all directions due to dense ground and ground-cover; feeding the <a href="/facts/Raba_(river)/bC1MVruR">Raba</a> river on the north-west side of the Gorce, and the <a href="/facts/Dunajec/kRjboM9M">Dunajec</a> on the south-east side. Other rivers, formed by the mountains include the Kamienica (35 kilometres (22 mi) in length), the Ochotnica (24 kilometres (15 mi)) and the Porębianka (13 kilometres (8.1 mi)), as well as large streams such as the Turbacz, the Gorcowy and the Łopuszna among others. The main city is <a href="/facts/Nowy_Targ/sB2GR4eF">Nowy Targ</a> on the Dunajec below in the valley of <a href="/facts/Podhale/hQGu26fJ">Podhale</a>, with large recreational villages including <a href="/facts/Kro%C5%9Bcienko_nad_Dunajcem/brhrYeV9">Krościenko nad Dunajcem</a>, <a href="/facts/Szczawa/ENKuhkdg">Szczawa</a> and <a href="/facts/Ochotnica_Dolna/RU5Woyl7">Ochotnica</a>.

Gorce Mountains open-in-new

Gorce Mountains