The Red Lake Within the Bicaz Gorges-Hăghimaş National Park

Abstract

The Red Lake is part of the Bicaz Gorges-Hăghimaş National Park. It is situated in the Group of Giurgeului and Hăghimaş Mountains (Curmăturii or Hăşmaş) within the Moldavian-Transylvanian Carpathians (Romanian Carpathians and Transylvanian Depression 1987). It must be mentioned that the delimitation of mountain units has been an intensely disputed subject within the past few years, the reason for which the limits of the Hăghimaş Mountains or even its name are still being questioned. The Bicaz Gorges-Hăghimaş National Park has objectives related to hydrology, hydrogeology, flora, fauna, archaeology and to the geologic substrate. Besides the lake basin being occupied by the Red Lake and by karstic forms dominated by the Bicaz Gorges, there are also numerous geologic sites such as fossil-bearing points with a biostratigraphic and paleontologic value, a series of petrographic outcrops with paleogeographic significance and some structural perimeters that help to decipher retro-tectonic aspects. Along with the geologic sites, there are several physical-geographic sites, such as The Licaş Swallow Hole, The Melekviz intermittent sources and the Izvorul Rece site and there are also archaeological objectives, such as with the Bardos-Bicaz Gorges. The vegetal sector is very well represented, through monuments of nature (Taxus baccata, Gentiana lueta, Leontopodium alpinum, Cypripedum calceolus); rarities (Juniperus sabina, Nigritella rubra, Daphne cneorum, Larix decidua ssp. carpatica) or endemisms (Aconitum toxicum, Campanula rotundifolia ssp. calcicolum, Centaurea melanocalathia).