The Iron Gates are a gorge of the Danube separating the foothills of the Balkan Mountains in Serbia (left side) and the Carpathians in Romania (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. Morning view from Ciucaru Mic in SW (upstream) direction.