GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Iron Gate natural park is a protected area established by Law no. 5 / 2000 on approving the National Spatial Plan Section III of protected areas. Iron Gates Natural Park is located in the south-west of Romania, at the state border with Serbia and Montenegro, occupying an area of 115,655 ha. In the west stretches between 21 21 'and 22 36' eastern longitude and in latitude between 44 51 'and 44 28' 30''north latitude. The Government Decision no. 230 in 2003 to establish the exact limits of the Iron Gates Natural Park. On the territory of the park was established 18 nature reserves. Southern boundary of the park is the river Danube that creates here the longest and one of the most spectacular narrow paths in Europe.
The park was created to protect and conserve existing biodiversity and landscape elements.
Geology
The Iron Gate natural park is a great diversity of the complexity of geological and tectonic petrographical. Here you meet two major structural units: canvas Getic and domestic Danubian
Concentration across the Iron Gates Natural Park of the entire geological structure of
South Carpathians creates an extraordinary diversity of relief and landscapes.
Iron Gates Natural Park is a geological atlas even outdoors, with a series of geological and paleontological points of interest nationally renowned.
Relief
The complexity of geological structure and tectonics led to the formation of a varied relief from depression, gentle hills, the massive mountains and slopes. On the left side of the Danube rises Locvei Mountains Mountains Almaj, Mehedinti Mehedinti Mountains and Plateau. Maximum altitude in the park is 968m (Peak Santa linden tree) Almaj Mountains.
Danube forms here the longest and most spectacular gorge in Europe, with a length of 134 km. Romanian Danube Gorge presents the narrow sectors and areas of expansion. The most interesting part of the canyon is Cazane area where karst topography is well represented.
The Iron Gates Natural Park can be found all types of karst terrain. Endocarstul is well represented through the caves and potholes (Ponicove cave, cave with water, fits hole cave, Cave of Outlaws, etc..). Phenomena exocarstice: keys, sinkholes, uvala, lapiezuri are also well represented, particularly in karst plateau and the hills of Saint Helena Ciucarul Great and Small Ciucarul be found in Berzasca Valley, Valley Mudoviţa Seac�f, etc. ..
Climate
Iron Gate area climate is temperate continental with Mediterranean influence significant. Influence of hot air home sub mediterraneean give higher values of temperature compared with the rest of the country, the annual average of about 11 ˨ C.
The Iron Gates Natural Park region manifests winds with local and specific canyon breezes created due to temperature differences between warm water and strong Limestone slopes.
Average annual rainfalls ranging between 800-1000 mm.
Hydrology
Danube is the main stream of the Iron Gates Natural Park area. It receives tributaries that have their source in Semenic, Locvei, Almaj, Mehedinti and Cerna, of which the most important are: Nera Radimna, Moldova, Mraconia, Cerna and Bahna. Due to the construction of Iron Gates I Dam water level has greatly increased thus leading to flooding of large areas of land and the emergence of new aquatic habitats, thus leading to an expansion of wetlands.
Lake resulting from dam removal is the most fitting hydrotechnics the whole length of the Danube. The lake has a length of 130 km and an area of 700 km, and an average water volume of 12 km.