The Iron Gates are a gorge of the Danube separating the Carpathians in Romania (left side) and the foothills of the Balkan Mountains in Serbia (right side). They have already been infamous for navigation at the time of the Roman Empire. Since the early 1970s, the river has been impounded for hydro power generation. The town of Orșova and several villages have been submerged and had to be relocated. View from Ciucaru Mare in NE (downstream) direction.