The ?wi?tokrzyskie Mountains (Polish: Góry ?wi?tokrzyskie, IPA: ['?ur? ?vj?nt?'k??sk??] ( listen), Holy Cross Mountains) are a mountain range in central Poland, near the city of Kielce. The ?wi?tokrzyskie Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in Europe, and the highest between the Sudetes and the Ural Mountains.
The mountain range comprises several lesser ranges, the highest of which is ?ysogóry (literally "Bald Mountains").
The two highest peaks are ?ysica, 612 m (2008 ft), and ?ysa Góra, 593 m (1946 ft).
Together with the Jura Krakowsko-Cz?stochowska, the mountains form a region called the Lesser-Poland Upland (Wy?yna Ma?opolska).
They cover an area of 1684 km² (650 mi²).
The approximate location is 50°53?N 20°55?E.
Video ?wi?tokrzyskie Mountains
PrehistoryEdit
The ?wi?tokrzyskie Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges in Europe. They were formed during the Caledonian orogeny of the Silurian period and then rejuvenated in the Hercynian orogeny of the Upper Carboniferous period.
The region was once on the southern coast of the ancient supercontinent of Laurasia. The oldest known evidence of tetrapods comes from 395-million-year old fossil footprints found in Zache?mie. The rocks were formed from a marine tidal flat or lagoon.
The mountains have also yielded the oldest evidence of Dinosauromorpha, pushing back the evolution of dinosaurs to small, four-legged animals living during the Early Triassic. The fossil footprints date to some 250 million years ago, only a couple of million years after the Permian-Triassic extinction event, during a time when the environment was still destabilized. Footprints of early bipedal dinosaurs known as Sphingopus, from 246 million years ago, have also been found.
Maps ?wi?tokrzyskie Mountains
HistoryEdit
From the early Middle Ages the mountains were a place of extensive copper and iron mining. Later they were also a significant site of limestone and red sandstone extraction. The central part of the mountains now contains the ?wi?tokrzyski National Park.
The name "Holy Cross Mountains" refers to a Christian relic from a nearby Benedictine monastery on ?ysa Góra, said to be a small piece of wood from the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
See alsoEdit
- Bartek the most famous tree in Poland
- Caledonian orogenesis
- Holy Cross Province
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Media related to Swietokrzyskie Mountains at Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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