SURDUC PASS

also called Jiu Defile, or Jiu PassRomanian Pasul Surduc pass, southwestern Romania. The Jiu River flows through the pass between the Vlcan (west) and the Parng (east) mountains, in the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians). The pass connects the Petro sani Depression (upper Jiu Valley) with the Plain of Oltenia. A road and the BumbestiLivezeni railway line, opened in 1947, follow the pass by means of 30 tunnels and several viaducts.