Satellite image of the Carpathians

The Southern Carpathians in Romania

The Transylvanian Western Carpathians (Apuseni Mountains)

The Romanian Eastern Carpathians

The Carpathian Mountains are the eastern wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe, curving 1500 km (~900 miles) along the borders of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and northern Hungary. Image File history File links Carpathians-satellite. ... Image File history File links Carpathians-satellite. ... The Apuseni Mountains is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Carpathians. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ... Motto: none Anthem: Bože Pravde Capital Belgrade Largest city Belgrade Official language(s) Serbian1 Government Republic  - President Boris Tadić  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Formation and independence    - Formation of Serbia 814   - Formation of the Serbian Empire 1345   - Independence from the Ottoman Empire July 13, 1878   - Serbia and Montenegro union...

The Carpathians names in central European languages are: German, Dutch: Karpaten; Czech, Polish, and Slovak: Karpaty; Serbian: Karpati; Hungarian: Kárpátok; Romanian: Carpaţi; Ukrainian: Карпати (Karpaty). The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and by Serbs everywhere. ...

Name

The name is most likely derived from the Carp, a Dacian tribe, attested in Late Roman Empire documents (Zosimus) until 381 as living on the Eastern Carpathian slopes. Alternately, the name of the tribe may have been derived from the name of the mountains. The name 'Karpetes' may ultimately be from the Proto Indo-European root *sker-/*ker-, from which comes the Albanian word 'karpë' (rock), perhaps by way of a Dacian word which meant 'mountain', 'rock', or 'rugged'. The Carpi or Carpians were a Dacian tribe that were originally located on the Eastern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, in what is now Bacău county, Romania. ... Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci, named by the ancient Greeks Getae, was a large district of Southeastern Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa, on the east by the Tyras or Nistru, now... The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... For the pope of this name see Pope Zosimus Zosimus, Greek historical writer, nourished at Constantinople during the second half of the 5th century A.D. According to Photius, he was a count, and held the office of advocate of the imperial treasury. ... See Pie (disambiguation) for other uses of PIE. The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ... The Dacian language was an Indo-European language spoken by the ancient people of Dacia. ...

In late Roman documents, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains were referred to as Montes Sarmatici. The Western Carpathians were called Carpates. The name Carpates is first recorded in Ptolemy's Geography. Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; c. ...

In the Scandinavian Hervarar saga, which describes ancient Germanic legends about battles between Goths and Huns, the name Karpates appears in the predictable Germanic form Harvaða fjöllum (see Grimm's law). Hervarar saga ok Heidhreks is a fornaldarsaga from the 13th century using material from an older saga. ... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ... The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes, most likely of diverse origin with a Turkic-speaking aristocracy, who appeared in Europe in the 4th century, the most famous being Attila the Hun. ... Grimms law (also known as the First Germanic Sound Shift) is a set of statements describing the inherited Proto-Indo-European (PIE) stops as they developed in Proto-Germanic (PGmc, the common ancestor of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family) sometime in the 1st millennium BC. It...

In official Hungarian documents of the 13th and 14th centuries, the Carpathians are named Thorchal or Tarczal, or the latinate Montes Nivium.

Geography

(2) Inner Western Carpathians , Tatra, Poland

(2) Inner Western Carpathians , Tatra, Poland

Bucegi, Center Romania

The Carpathians begin on the Danube near Bratislava. They surround Transcarpathia and Transylvania in a large semicircle, sweeping towards the south-west, and end on the Danube near Orşova, in Romania. The total length of the Carpathians is over 1,500 km. the mountain chain's width varies between 12 and 500 km. The greatest width of the Carpathians corresponds with its highest altitudes. The system attains its greatest breadth in the Transylvanian plateau, and in the meridian of the Tatra group (the highest range, with Gerlachovský štít, at 2,655 m (8,705 feet) above sea level in Slovak territory). It covers an area of 190,000 km², and, after the Alps, is the most extensive mountain system in Europe. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (838x629, 215 KB) Summary West Carpathian, Tarta, Dolina 5 Stawow Polskich, Poland, Marek Silarski Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (838x629, 215 KB) Summary West Carpathian, Tarta, Dolina 5 Stawow Polskich, Poland, Marek Silarski Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (819x614, 156 KB)GFDL ,Tatra view from Rysy, Zakopane, Poland, Marek Silarski File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (819x614, 156 KB)GFDL ,Tatra view from Rysy, Zakopane, Poland, Marek Silarski File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links RomanianCarpati. ... Image File history File links RomanianCarpati. ... Categories: Stub | Mountains of Romania ... The Danube bend at Visegrád is a popular destination of tourists The Danube (ancient Danuvius) is Europes second-longest river (after the Volga). ... Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 450,000. ... Zakarpattya or Transcarpathia (Закарпатська область, Zakarpats’ka oblast’ in Ukrainian) is an oblast (region) of Ukraine. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... OrÅŸova (Hungarian: Orsova, German: Orschowa) is a port town on the Danube river in southwestern Romanias Mehedinti county. ... Tatras Tatra mountains or Tatras or Tatra (in Polish and Slovak Tatry, which is a plural proper noun) is a mountain range on the border of Poland and Slovakia, the highest part of the Carpathian Mountains. ... Gerlachov Peak or Gerlachovský Peak (Slovak: Gerlachovský Å¡tít meaning peak of [the village] Gerlachov) or - based on the colloquial or old name- Gerlach Peak (Slovak:Gerlach) is the highest peak of the Tatra mountains, of Slovakia and of the whole Carpathians. ... The West face of the Petit Dru above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace. ...

Although commonly referred to as a mountain chain, the Carpathians do not actually form an uninterrupted chain of mountains. Rather, they consist of several orographically and geologically distinctive groups, presenting as great a structural variety as the Alps. The Carpathians, which only in a few places attain an altitude of over 2,500 m, lack the bold peaks, extensive snow-fields, large glaciers, high waterfalls and the numerous large lakes which are common in the Alps. No area of the Carpathian Range is covered in snow year-round, and there are no glaciers. The Carpathians at their highest altitude are only as high as the Middle Region of the Alps, with which they share a common appearance, climate, and flora. Orography is the average height of land, measured in geopotential meters, over a certain domain. ... Austrias longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austrias highest mountain, the Grossglockner A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... In Botany a Flora (or Floræ) is a collective term for plant life and can also refer to a descriptive catalogue of the plants of any geographical area, geological period, etc. ...

The Carpathians are separated from the Alps by the Danube. The two ranges meet only in one point: the Leitha Mountains at Bratislava. The river also separates them from the Stara Planina, or "Balkan Mountains", at Orşova, Romania. The valley of the March and Oder separates the Carpathians from the Silesian and Moravian chains, which belong to the middle wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe. Unlike the other wings of the system, the Carpathians, which form the watershed between the northern seas and the Black Sea, are surrounded on all sides by plains, namely the Pannonian plain on the south-west, the plain of the Lower Danube (Romania) on the south, and the Galician plain on the north-east. Stara Planina, Rhodope, Rila and Pirin Mountains The Stara Planina (Old Mountain) or Balkan mountain range is an extension of the Carpathian mountain range, separated from it by the Danube River. ... OrÅŸova (Hungarian: Orsova, German: Orschowa) is a port town on the Danube river in southwestern Romanias Mehedinti county. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Czech: ; German: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlonsk / Åšlónsk) is a historical region in central Europe. ... Moravia in relation to the current kraje of the Czech Republic Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava, German: ( ), Hungarian: Morvaország, Polish: Morawy) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... The Pannonian Plain is a large plain in Central Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea (see below) dried out. ... Coat-of-arms of Galicia Galicia is a historical region currently split between Poland and Ukraine. ...

Convention on the protection of the Carpathians

A Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians [1] was signed in 2003 between the seven participating States, following an international consultation process facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Divisions

Main article: Divisions of the Carpathians Map of the main divisions of the Carpathians. ...

Horizontal division

• Outer Carpathians (= Outer Western Carpathians and Outer Eastern Carpathians, usually incl. the corresponding Outer Carpathian Depressions)
• Inner Carpathians (= Inner Western Carpathians, Inner Eastern Carpathians and all the remaining Carpathians)

A major part of the western and north-eastern Outer Carpathians is traditionally called Beskids. Beskidy Mountains (Beskid Mountains, Beskidy, Beskydy, Beskids) is a series of Czech Republic, northwestern Slovakia, and southern Poland, along the border between Poland and the Czech Republic and Slovakia. ...

Vertical and general division

Map of the Carpathian subdivisions

What follows is a practical outline of the Carpathian subdivisions (clockwise from the west, numbers refer to the map): Image File history File links Annotated version of image file http://commons. ... Image File history File links Annotated version of image file http://commons. ...

• Western Carpathians:
  • 1 Outer Western Carpathians:
    • Austrian - South-Moravian Carpathians
    • Central Moravian Carpathians
    • Slovak-Moravian Carpathians
    • West-Beskidian Piedmont
    • Western Beskids
    • Central Beskids
    • Eastern Beskids
    • Podhale-Magura Area
  • 2 Inner Western Carpathians:
    • Slovak Ore Mountains
    • Fatra-Tatra Area
    • Slovak Medium Mountains
    • Lučenec-Košice Depression
    • Mátra-Slanec Area
• South Eastern Carpathians (= Eastern Carpathians in a wider sense):
  • Eastern Carpathians:
    • 3 Outer Eastern Carpathians:
      • Central Beskidian Piedmont
      • Low Beskids
      • Eastern Beskids
      • Moldavian-Muntenian Carpathians
      • Eastern Subcarpathians
    • 4 Inner Eastern Carpathians:
      • Vihorlat-Gutin Area
      • Bistriţa Mountains
      • Căliman-Harghita Mountains
      • Giurgeu-Braşov Depression
      • Rakhiv Massif and Maramureş Mountains
      • Maramureş Depression
      • Rodna Mountains
  • 5 Southern Carpathians (also known as Transylvanian Alps):
    • Făgăraş Mountains Group
    • Parâng Mountains Group
    • Retezat-Godeanu Mountains Group
  • 6 Romanian Western Carpathians:
    • Apuseni Mountains
    • Poiana Ruscă Mountains (sometimes considered part of the Southern Carpathians)
    • Banat Mountains (sometimes considered part of the Southern Carpathians)
  • 7 Transylvanian Plateau (sometimes not considered part of the Carpathians at all):
    • Transylvanian Plateau
    • Mureş-Turda Depression
    • Făgăraş Depression
    • Sibiu Depression
  • 8 Serbian Carpathians (sometimes considered part of the Southern Carpathians, or not considered part of the Carpathians at all)
• Outer Carpathian Depressions (they surround the Carpathians and are normally considered part of the corresponding adjacent above main groups)

The geological border between the Western and Eastern Carpathians runs approximately along the line (south to north) between the towns Michalovce - Bardejov - Nowy Sącz - Tarnów. In older systems the border runs more in the east – at the line (north to south)along the rivers San and Osława (PL) – the town of Snina (SK) – river Tur'ia (UA). Biologists, however, shift the border even further to the east. The Slovak Ore Mountains (Slovak: Slovenské rudohorie) are an extensive mountainous region in Slovakia in the Carpathians. ... Satellite image of the Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains are the eastern wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe, curving 1500 km (~900 miles) along the borders of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and northern Hungary. ... Rodna Mountains (MunÅ£ii Rodnei) are a subdivision of the Eastern Carpathians in Northern Romania. ... Southern Carpathians (also called Transylvanian Alps; in Romanian: Carpaţii Meridionali) are located between the Prahova river in the east and the Timiş river and Cerna river in the west. ... The Apuseni Mountains is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Carpathians. ... Transylvanian Plateau is an plateau in central Romania almoast entirely surrounded by the Eastern, Southern and Romanian Western branches of the Carpathian Mountains. ... Transylvanian Plateau is an plateau in central Romania almoast entirely surrounded by the Eastern, Southern and Romanian Western branches of the Carpathian Mountains. ... Michalovce (German: Großmichel, Hungarian: Nagymihály, Romani: Nadymihaya, Yiddish: Mikhaylovets or Mykhaylovyts) is a city on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Nowy SÄ…cz town in southern Poland; less often an administrative district (powiat) surrounding the town. ... Tarnów is a city in south-eastern Poland with 121,500 inhabitants (1995). ... Length of 433 km Basin area of 16 861 km2 Origin Carpathian Tributary of the Vistula Country Poland-Ukraine The San (Ukrainian: Сян, Sian). ... Oslawa River near Zagorz Oslawa River near Mariemont hill, Zagorz, Poland Mariemont - Carmelites tower-monastry from 17th c. ... Snina (Hungarian: Szinna) is the easternmost town in Slovakia placed at the confluence of the Cirocha river and the small river Pčolinka in the valley between the Beskydy foothills and the Vihorlat mountain. ...

The border between the Eastern and Southern Carpathians is formed by the Predeal Pass, south of Braşov and the Prahova Valley. County BraÅŸov County Status Town Mayor Mihai VeÅŸtea, since 2004 Area 58. ... County BraÅŸov County Status County capital Mayor George Scripcaru, since 2004 Area  km² Population (2002) 283,901 Density  inh/km² Geographical coordinates Web site http://www. ... Prahova Valley (Romanian: Valea Prahovei) is the valley where the Prahova river makes its way between the Bucegi and the Baiului Mountains, in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania. ...

The Ukrainians sometimes denote as "Eastern Carpathians" only the Ukrainian Carpathians (or Wooded Carpathians), i.e. basically the part situated largely on their territory (i.e. to the north of the Prislop Pass), while the Romanians sometimes denote as "Eastern Carpathians" only the other part, which lies on their territory (i.e. from the Ukrainian border or from the Prislop Pass to the south).

Also, the Romanians divide the Eastern Carpathians on their territory into three simplified geographical groups (north, center, south), instead of Outer and Inner Eastern Carpathians. These are:

• Carpaţii Maramureşului şi ai Bucovinei (Carpathians of Maramureş and Bucovina)
• Carpaţii Moldo-Transilvani (Moldavian-Transylvanian Carpathians)
• Carpaţii de Curbură/Carpaţii Curburii

MaramureÅŸ (Hungarian: Máramaros) is a county (judeÅ£) in the MaramureÅŸ region, northern Romania, in the North of Transylvania with the capital city at Baia Mare (population: 149,735). ... Bukovina (Bucovina in Romanian; Буковина, Bukovyna in Polish), on the slopes of the Carpathian mountains, comprises an historic province now split between Ukraine. ...

See also

• List of mountain peaks in Romania

This is a list of important mountain peaks in Romania References Anuarul 2004 al Institutului Naţional de Statistică Categories: | | ...

External links

• Orographic map highlighting Carpathian mountains
• Hiking trails in Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains
• Carpathian Mountains Images

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Category:Carpathian Mountains