The Seven Ladders are located in the middle-western part of the Piatra Mare Mountains, at an average altitude of 980 m, not far away from Valea Timisului (Dambu Morii), on the Seven Ladders River, the left-side affluent of Sipoaia creek. These are the greatest and the most spectacular gorges of the whole Piatra Mare Mountains.
Their length is 160 m with a level difference of 58 m. The first ladder of the gorges, going upwards, has a height of 8 m, followed by another 6 ladders; the longest one has a height of about 12 m. The Seven Ladders gorges are carved in Jurassic calcites, which register the traces of the recent evolution of the entire mountain. The accelerated epigenesis had lead to the creation of the river, first in cretaceous aggregation layer and then in Jurassic calcites layer. This had conducted in the hill breaks (the seven cascades) that follow on the river bed (2.5-15 m heights) and have marmite as base. |