MATRA MOUNTAINS

the highest range in northern Hungary, and part of the region's central highland belt. The range's maximum elevation is reached at Mount Kkes (3,327 feet ). The Mtra is a sharply defined volcanic mass consisting in large part of lava and measuring approximately 25 miles (40 km) east-west between the Tarna and Zagyva rivers and 9 miles (14 km) north-south across the range's spine. The north slopes shelve sharply into the Ngrd basin; to the south are the Mtra foothills, a series of fingerlike projections onto the Great Alfld. The fingerlike pattern of the foothills was created by the erosive action of the several tributaries of the Tarna River system, flowing south. The Mtras have a rich and varied vegetation, beech and oak predominating. The climate is mild, especially on the south-facing slopes, and on the high points long hours of summer sunshine have favoured popular resorts and sanatoriums, such as those at Kkesteto, Galyateto, gasvr, and Pardfrdo. The industrial basin in the Mtra foothills (centred on the Gyngys River) developed rapidly in the 1970s. The Kisterenye-Nagybtony coalfield is important, and there are small deposits of nonferrous metals around the range's volcanic core.