The Spatial Distribution of Settlements in the Barg u Mountains

Based of the specific geomorphologic and hydrologic background, the Barg u Mountains have faced an extensive and prolonged human process, the main vectors being the two morpho - hydrographic axes (Ilva-Le u and Barg u-Bistri a), including the interfluvial areas, which were introduced, in different degrees, into the humanized territory. Thus, two habitational zones are distinguished, the one of Ilva and Le u (in the central part) and the one of Barg u and Bistri a, in the south. The present study aims at emphasizing the main aspects connected to the territorial distribution of habitats in the Barg u Mountains, from a double perspective: quantitative and morphological. The analysis of the quantitative distribution of settlements was made starting from the calculation of some synthetic indicators (the settlement density, the area coefficient, the dispersion indicator, the average distance between two localities). As altitude plays an important role in the spatial distribution of habitats, four “generations” of settlements were identified depending on the elevation levels. The most numerous localities in the Barg u Mountains (16 out of the total of 20) are situated between 601 and 1100 m, illustrating the specific morphometrical features of the territory. Besides the role that the terrain plays in the distribution of habitats, the swarming processes (through displacement and saltation) have to be mentioned, as they contributed to the confinement of the forest surfaces, so that, now, the Barg u Mountains represent a strongly humanized area.