The Danube hydrographic basin map

As a result of the morphological and social town planning modifications during the appearance of the accumulation lake, a relief map of the "Iron Gates" Defile shows the previous and subsequent situation before building the Hydro- Energetic and Navigation System from the "Iron Gates".

Hall 1 (General aspect)

When the Danube pierces the mountainous Alps-Carpathian system, it emphasises a great number of magmatic, metamorphic, sedimentary rocks, the last creating a real natural show.

The mining flower samples presented on the aesthetic criteria and having a valuable economical importance, complete the beauty of the "Iron Gates" Defile.

Stibnite, Quartz

The carstic relief is represented by doline, clints, the Natural Bridge from Ponoare caves, a unique phenomenon in the country.

The Natural Bridge from Ponoare

Hall 1 (General aspect)

A series of epoch engravings (years 1826, 1857, 1878) showing some of the 19^th century occupations and garments specific to the population that lived across the whole Danube Valley, ends the topic of the first hall.

The Babacai Rock and the Golubac ruins

The Golubac Cave

Cazane Defile

The flora and fauna variety, conditionated by the geological substratum complexity conferred to the Danube Defile between Sviniţa and Gura Văii the prestige of the European uniqueness.

The difficulty of climbing the rocky sides of the path favoured, in a natural way, the preservation of the natural landscape integrity even before the adoption of the official laws for the protection of nature. The first attempts at creating some natural reservations in the Danube Defile were made in 1920, when the Deans Office from the Faculty of Science in Cluj University, sent Dr. Iuliu Maniu a memorial for setting up the "Pasul Cazan in Banat" reservation.

At the abrupt rocks shelter, hospitable only for plants, we come across the most remarkable flowery elements in our country: Banat maple and the marvellous Cazan’s tulip.

Tulipa hungarica (Cazan’s tulip)

The fauna elements: the antler adder, the land tortoise, eagle, the rock swallow complete the beautiful landscape from Cazane.

Vipera ammodytes ammodytes The antler adder

Apus melba The rock swallow

On the Tricule rocks we meet the only population of Banat black pine from the defile, at lower altitude than normal.

Diorama Danube to Tricule

The Black woodpecker, the rock partridge and the garden snake create the themes of this diorama Danube to Tricule.

One of the greatest valley tributary to Danube is the Cerna valley where the forest vegetation is favourable to big mammals: wolves, wild boars.

Meles-meles The badger

Building the "Iron Gates" accumulation lake has determined the modification of the Danubian yhtiofauna in this area. In the Aquarium exhibition basins there are species of fish which live today in the Danube, where the lake conditions were stabilised: Cyprinidaes family (the carp, the bream, the crucian carp, the roach, the rapacious carp, the sturgeon, the tench, the bleak), the sheatfish, the pike perch, the perch, the pike, the sterlet.

The "Iron Gates" Museum Aquarium (a general image)

Sterlet

The passionate aquarists can feel a great delight in admiring the subtropical and tropical species of fish:

Puntius tetrazona

The aquatic fauna and flora are in a continuous process of completing the aquarium themes. Related to the Danubian ihtyofauna changes during the accumulation of the barrage lake, there is the diorama called: the Danube bottom at Cazane.

The Danube bottom Diorama

The sea sturgeons (the great sturgeon, the sturgeon, stor sturgeon), that before appearance arrived at Cazane in order to lay their roes stop now at the "Iron Gates II" barrage. Before the construction of the dam, the sea sturgeons (the great sturgeon, the sturgeon, stor sturgeon) were coming to Cazane to lay their spawn, but now, they stop at the Iron Gates II Dam. Sometimes, they accidentally penetrate inside the dam, but due to the poor water oxygenation this process isn’t viable anymore.

The metallic fishing tool from Sviniţa the sturgeons were fished with.

In certain areas from the Danube, the navigation is made difficult by rocks and threshold that come up at the surface of the water. In the Sip zone the navigation took place through the Sip Channel near the Serbian bank and the ships were pulled by engines.

The Diorama: The Sip waterfalls

The otters and the seagulls are raptors specific to fish.

On the river meadows, there are flowery and animals associations related to the aquatic life through food: the water- snake, the water tortoise, the hedgehog, the wild ducks)

Diorama: The Raven Island (Ostrovul Corbului)

The Natural Science exhibition ends with some aspects related to cosmogony,

Aspect from the hall 4

The origins of life on Earth, a series of paleontholojical proofs,

The Amonites from Sviniţa

One aspect from hall 4 - the evolution and the origins of the human being. Homo sapiens sapiens Schela Cladovei, who was discovered at Schela Cladovei (Mehedinţi)

"If humanity is to be informed about the importance of these areas, it will be, without any doubt, a great step forward during a lot of real efforts in protecting and preserving these treasures for the coming generations"