Location
Rudawy Janowickie are an area between Kotlina Jeleniogorska (the Jelenia Gora Valley) and Kotlina Kamiennogorska (the Kamienna Gora Valley). In the north they border on the valley of river Bobr, which separates them from the Kaczawskie Mountains. In the south Rudawy Janowickie reach Dolina Swidnika (the Swidnik Valley) and Przelecz Kowarska (the Kowarska Pass) - which separates Rudawy from Karkonosze - it is one of the best viewing points in the area. The highest peaks of the mountain ridge are Skalnik (945 m. a.s.l.), Rudnik (853 m. a.s.l.), Bobrzak (839 m. a.s.l.) and Redziny (891 m. a.s.l.).

Special Value
In the whole area of Rudawy we can find various rocks, often forming complicated mazes. It is an area of very diverse lay of land, covered mostly with spruce-beech and alluvial forests as well as exploited meadows. In streams there occur a protected species of fish - European bullhead. In abandoned pits we can meet a few species of bats.

Geology and Land Formation
Rudawy Janowickie are old mountains with diverse geologic composition. The western part are built of granites which belong to intrusion of a karkonosko-izerski block. This block was elevated during Variscides orogenesis (about 300 mln years ago). The block's elevation led to formation of many faults. At the edges of the block metamorphic processes took place.

Eastern part of the mountains are built of old Paleozoic metamorphic rocks of kaczawska unit (Precambrian micaceous schists, granite-gneisses, amphibolites, lawns and marbles). South east part of a geologic unit called niecka srodsudecka (a central-Sudetic basin) is built of Carboniferous sedminet sandstones-conglomerates rocks. Rudawy Janowickie owe their current shape and formation to glaciations and postglacial erosion processes, which remnants are rocks of unusual shapes and boulders.

Ecosystem
The whole Sudety macroregion has been under influence of human activity (mining, farming). It also applies to the area of Rudawy which in great part are covered with exploited meadows forming a refuge for rare vegetable communities.

Among types of habitats important for Europe in area of Rudawy Janowickie we can find:

• water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and Chenopodion rubri p.p. and Bidention p.p. vegetation
• hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to Alpine levels
• lowland hay meadows
• siliceous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation
• Luzulo-fagetum beech forests
• Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests
• Galio-Carpinetum oak-hornbeam forests
• alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae).

Fauna of the area is similar to the neighbouring areas of Sudety Mountains and Kaczawskie Mountains in terms of diversity. Characteristic species of Rudawy are bats: lesser horseshoe bat, barbastelle, pond bat, greater mouse-eared bat. In forest areas you can meet roe-deer, wild pigs and foxes. In mountain streams there is a stand of freshwater sculpin.

Threats
To preserve natural habitats of meadows it is necessary to exploit them extensively. In case of meadow communities abandonment of their extensive exploitation or change of the way they are used would cause a threat.

Pollution of water and reckless mountain stream engineering may pose a threat to European bullhead population - a species enlisted in the Polish Red Data Book of Animals.

Protection of nature
Most of Rudawy Janowickie together with south part of Gory Kaczawskie (Gory Olowiane) make Rudawski Park Krajobrazowy (the Rudawy Landscape Park). It was established in 1989, in order to protect geodiversity of rock forms and habitational areas - meadows and forests, and currently covers area of 15705 ha.