Kőszeg Mountains

The Kőszeg Mountains, sometimes called the Guns or Güns Mountains, are a mountain range in the Alpokalja area, the easternmost region of the Alps. The territory of the range is shared between Austria and Hungary. Geologically, the mountains represent a Penninic window, formed from metamorphic rocks transformed about 28–31 million years ago and uplifted between 15–18 million years ago. The landscape features a main north-south ridge with multiple east-west tributary ridges, creating a distinctive pattern of parallel valleys shaped by streams flowing eastward toward the Gyöngyös. The mountain range's hydrology includes a network of permanent and intermittent streams that have shaped the terrain through erosion and occasional flash floods. The varied habitats of the Kőszeg Mountains support rich biodiversity, including dozens of species of soil-dwelling enchytraeid worms and orthopteran insects (grasshoppers and crickets), with distinct species assemblages corresponding to different vegetation types from wet meadows to xeric grasslands.