The highest mountain in the Beskids is Hoverla, at 2,061m (6,762ft).[1]
Etymology
The origin of the name beskydy has not been conclusively established. A Thracian or Illyrian origin has been suggested;[citation needed] however, as yet, no theory has majority support among linguists. The word appears in numerous mountain names throughout the Carpathians and the adjacent Balkan regions, like in Albanianbjeshkë. According to linguists Çabej and Orel, it is possibly derived from Proto-Albanian*beškāi tāi (meaning 'the mountain pastures').[2][3] The Slovak name Beskydy refers to the Polish Bieszczady Mountains, which is not a synonym for the entire Beskids but one single range, belonging to the Eastern Beskids. According to another linguistic theory, it may be related to Middle Low Germanbeshêt, beskēt, meaning 'watershed'.[4]
Historically, the term was used for hundreds of years to describe the mountain range separating the old Kingdom of Hungary from the old Kingdom of Poland. In 1269, the Beskids were known by the Latin name Beschad Alpes Poloniae 'Beskid Mountains of Poland'.[5]
Geologically all of the Beskids stand within the Outer Western Carpathians and the Outer Eastern Carpathians. In the west they begin at the natural pass of the Moravian Gate, which separates them from the Eastern Sudetes, continue east in a band to the north of the Tatra Mountains, and end in Ukraine. The eastern termination of the Beskids is disputed. According to older sources, the Beskids end at the source of the Tisza River, while newer sources state that the Beskids end at the Uzhok Pass at the Polish–Ukrainian border.
Multiple traditions, languages and nationalities have developed overlapping variants for the divisions and names of the Beskid ranges. According to the divisions of the Carpathians, they are categorized within:
Western Beskids
Western Beskids (Polish: Beskidy Zachodnie, Slovak: Západné Beskydy, Czech: Západní Beskydy)
Orava Beskids (Slovak: Oravské Beskydy) + Żywiec Beskids (Polish: Beskid Żywiecki) (the older Slovak equivalent of Beskid Zywiecki is Slovenské Beskydy 'Slovak Beskids' or Kysucko-oravské Beskydy 'Kysuce-Orava Beskids') → g1
Kysuce Beskids (Slovak: Kysucké Beskydy) +Żywiec Beskids (Polish: Beskid Żywiecki) (the older Slovak equivalent of Beskid Zywiecki is Slovenské Beskydy or Kysucko-oravské Beskydy) → g2
A number of environmental groups support a small but growing population of bears, wolves and lynx in the ecosystem of the Beskidy mountains. The Central Beskids include the Polish Babia Góra National Park and the adjacent Slovak Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area.
↑Zbigniew Gołąb. The Origins of the Slavs: A Linguist's View. Slavica Publishers, Inc., 1992 p. 342. "The Germanic etymology of Bieszczad // Beskid was proposed by Prof. Jan Michał Rozwadowski (1914:162, etc.). He derives the variant beščad from Germc. biskaid, which is represented by MLG besche (beskêt) Trennung and by Scandinavian bêsked, borrowed from [...]"
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