The Iron Gates Natural Park

The Iron Gates Natural Park is a nationally protected area corresponding to the IUCN category V (natural park). It is located in the administrative territories of Caraș-Severin and Mehedinți counties and is mostly situated in the geographic region known as the Danube Gorge or the Clisura Dunării.

Declared a natural park by Law No. 5 on March 6, 2000, it is located in southwestern Romania, with its southern boundary being the Romanian bank of the Danube. To the east, it borders the town of Dr. Tr. Severin (Mehedinți), to the west with the town of Socol (Caraș-Severin). To the north, from the confluence of the Nera with the Danube, the Peaks of Tâlva Blidarului, Svinecea Mică, and Mare, it follows the interfluve of the Danube formed by its tributaries.

It covers an area of approximately 115,665.8 hectares, making it one of the largest natural parks in Romania (ranked 2nd), comprising 18 reserves. The main relief features are mountains, including the southern extensions of the Banat Mountains (Locva Mountains and Almăj Mountains), the Mehedinți Mountains, and part of the Mehedinți Plateau.

The Iron Gates Natural Park represents a convergence zone for the plant and animal worlds between the Pannonian Plain and the Romanian Plain, with the Danube Gorge connecting these regions. The climate with Mediterranean influences (warm and dry summers and mild winters with abundant rainfall) in this region has favored the presence of many heat-loving plants and animals that have adapted to the conditions of this geographical space. From a biogeographic perspective, the Iron Gates Natural Park falls into the banto-getic Subprovince, which is included in the Dacic Province (Călinescu, 1968). In turn, the Dacic Province belongs to the Mediterranean Subregion, with the presence of numerous sub-Mediterranean and Mediterranean species serving as evidence. Dacic and sub-Mediterranean influences interact, leading to the formation of complex vegetation groups, unique in Romania, constituting sub-Mediterranean vegetation.