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Bieszczady, or Bieszczadzkie Mountains (lat. Poloniae Alpe Besczade, ru. Бещады, sr. Бјешчади), is the Polish name of the western part of what the Polish call Eastern Beskids (Beskidy Wschodnie). It is a part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain range is situated between the Łupków Pass (640 m) and the Vyshkovskyi Pass (933 m).
The Beskids is a traditional name for a series of mountain ranges in the northeastern Czech Republic, northwestern Slovakia, southern Poland and in Western Ukraine. The name of the mountains probably comes from a Thracian or Illyrian origin. The Beskids are currently rich in forest and coal. In the past they were rich in iron ore, with important plants in Ostrava and Třinec - Třinec Iron and Steel Works.
In a narrower but very frequent sense, Bieszczady refers only to the Western Bieszczady or even only to the Polish part of the mountain range.
The highest peak of Bieszczady is Mt. Pikuy (1405 m) in Ukraine. The highest peak of the Polish part is Tarnica (1346 m).
The term Bieszczady in the wide sense is used only in Poland. In Slovakia and Ukraine "Bieszczady" usually refers only to the part situated in Poland. In Poland "Bieszczady" also refers usually only to the Polish part of the (Western) Bieszczady. In Ukraine, the "Eastern Bieszczady" have various names (unstable terminology), they usually contain the word Beskids. In Slovakia the Slovak part is called Bukovec Mountains (Bukovské vrchy).
Historically, the terms Bieszczad and Beskid have been used for hundreds of years to describe the mountains separating Poland from Ruthenia and Hungary.
The colloquial Polish term referring to Bieszczady is Biesy, folk etymology connecting the origin of the mountains to demonic (bies) activities.
