THE INVENTORY AND HIERARCHY OF GEOMORPHOSITES IN THE VL DEASA MASSIF

At first glance, the Vl deasa Massif does not stand out in the Apuseni Mountains in terms of the number of geomorphosites it contains, nor in terms of their diversity. But, if one carefully analyzes the landforms in this area, one would find a surprisingnumber of landmarks that could be classified as geomorphosites. Karstic landforms are the most numerous among these, surprisingly one may add, for a massif that is mainly build up by volcanic rocks and crystalline schists. The karst geomorphosites are all situated in the limestone area of the massif, the Stanciului Valley. After a diagnosis performed on these potential geomorphosites, using the method already successfully applied for the Trasc u Mountains, the list of geomorphosites in the Vl deasa Massif, containing 20 such sites was generated. Most of them are endokarstic forms: caves, potholes and swallets, but there are also peaks, one waterfall and some valley sectors. Among these, the top three sites could occupy leading positions in a hierarchy of geomorphosites in the Apuseni Mountains due to their unique features, and high values: Varfura uCave, R chi ele Waterfall and Pietrele Albe klippes