THE ARIEŞULUI GORGE, A COMPLEX GEOMORPHOSITE IN THE APUSENI MOUNTAINS

The linear geomorphosites are representative for the Apuseni Mountains, as for no other mountains in the Romanian Carpathians. Among them, caves of high lengths and gorges carved in limestone have always generated an attractive outshine phenomenon over gorges carved in other types of rocks, defiles. There are some defiles in the Apuseni Mountains, however, that constitute important geomorphosites. Among these, the Arieşului Gorge is one of the most representatives. With an impressive length, of 30 km between Sălciua and Moldoveneşti, this gorge has a fairly high structural value due to the succession of narrow sectors and depressions, to the complexity of the landscape caused by the different types of rocks that the valley crosses, and due to the various detail morphology. At a closer look one can note that both the structural and functional values of the gorge have placed it in the top geomorphosites of the Apuseni Mountains