Southern Carpathians
Southern Carpathians | |
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Romanian: Carpații Meridionali, Serbian: Јужни Карпати | |
File:Negoiu.jpg
Negoiu Peak (2535m)
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Highest point | |
Peak | Moldoveanu |
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Geography | |
Location of the Southern Carpathians in Romania
Location of the Southern Carpathians in Romania
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Countries | Romania and Serbia |
Geology | |
Orogeny | Alpine orogeny |
Age of rock | Mostly Triassic |
The Southern Carpathians (Romanian: Carpații Meridionali, Serbian: Јужни Карпати/Južni Karpati, Hungarian: Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges that divide central and southern Romania, on one side, and Serbia, on the other.[1] They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and Cerna[disambiguation needed] Rivers in the west. To the south they are bounded by the Balkan mountain range.
Heights
The Southern Carpathian are the second highest group of mountains in the Carpathian Mountain range (after Tatra), reaching heights of over 2,500 meters. Although considerably smaller than the Alps, they are classified as having an alpine landscape. Their high mountain character, combined with great accessibility, makes them popular with tourists and scientists.
The highest peaks are:
- Moldoveanu Peak, 2,544 metres - Făgăraș Mountains
- Negoiu, 2,535 metres - Făgăraș Mountains
- Parângu Mare, 2,519 metres - Parâng Mountains
- Peleaga, 2,509 metres - Retezat Mountains
- Omu Peak 2,507 metres - Bucegi Mountains
Despite the heights, some of the most accessible passages in the Carpathians in Romania are along the rivers, which cross the mountain range (the Olt River) or form wide valleys (along the Prahova River Valley or along the Jiu River Valley).
Geology
The South Carpathians represent an intricate pile of tectonic nappes, overthrusted from west eastwards during the Austrian (Middle Cretaceous) and Laramian paroxysmal phases, corresponding to various plate fragments. The napes are (from west eastwards): the Supragetic, Getic, Severin and Danubian Units. The Getic Nappe was identified by Murgoci (1905),[2] while the general understanding over the Alpine structure of the South Carpathians was later refined by Codarcea (1940),[3] Codarcea et al. (1961),[4] Năstăseanu et al. (1981),[5] Săndulescu (1984),[6] Săndulescu and Dimitrescu (2004),[7] and Mutihac (1990).[8] The first to apply the global tectonics concepts for the Romanian Carpathians were Rădulescu and Săndulescu (1973).[9]
The Supragetic, Getic Nappes as well as the Danubian Units represent units with both a metamorphic basement and a sedimentary cover, while the Severin Nappe includes only a sedimentary sequence. The Getic Nappe and the Danubian Units sediments include a Palaeozoic sequence (Upper Carboniferous, Lower Permian) and a Mesozoic sequence (Lowermost Jurassic - Middle Cretaceous). The Supragetic Nappe comprises mainly metamorphosed rocks (gneisses, micashists), while the Severin Nappe includes only Upper Jurassic - Lower Cretaceous sediments.
Mountain ranges
From east to west, four mountain groups can be identified, separated by different river valleys.
- Bucegi Mountains group - between the Prahova and Dâmboviţa Rivers.
- Bucegi Mountains (Munții Bucegi)
- Piatra Craiului (literally: "Rock of the King")
- Leaotă Mountains (Munții Leaotă)
- Făgăraş Mountains group - between the Dâmbovița River and the Olt River.
- Făgăraş Mountains (Munții Făgărașului)
- Iezer Mountains (Munții Iezer; literally: "Mountains of the Deep Lake")
- Cozia Mountains (Munții Cozia)
- Parâng Mountains group - between the Olt River and the Jiu River.
- Parâng Mountains (Munții Parâng)
- Şureanu Mountains (Munții Șureanu/M. Sebeșului)
- Cindrel Mountains (Munții Cindrel/M. Cibinului)
- Lotru Mountains (Munții Lotrului; literally: "Mountains of the Thief")
- Căpăţână Mountains (Munții Căpățânii; literally: "Mountains of the Skull")
- Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group - between the Jiu River and the Timiș and Cerna Rivers.
- Retezat Mountains (Munții Retezat; literally: "Hewed Mountains")
- Godeanu Mountains (Munții Godeanu)
- Vâlcan Mountains (Munții Vâlcan)
- Mehedinţi Mountains (Munții Mehendinți)
- Cerna Mountains (Munții Cernei)
- Ţarcu Mountains (Munții Țarcu; literally: "Pen Mountains").
The first two groups are steepest on the North side, and the last two are steepest on the South side.
Gallery
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Muntii Bucegi vazuti de pe Postavaru.jpg
Bucegi as seen from Postavaru massif
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Bucegi.jpg
Coștila 400 meters high wall
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Caraiman summit.JPG
View from Bușteni
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Vf-scara4.jpg
Scara summit in Bucegi Mountains
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Bucegi jepiimici.JPG
Jepii Mici Peak in Bucegi Mountains
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Detaliu Custura Saratii.jpg
Challenging hiking trail
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Lake Podragu.jpg
Podragu Lake
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Custura Saratii.jpg
Custura Sărătii (in the center of the photo)
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Parang-21.jpg
Landscape in Parâng Mountains
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Parang mountain image 1.jpg
Parâng alpine scenery
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Parang-38.jpg
Shelter in Parâng mountains
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Parang-32.jpg
One of many Parâng glacial lakes
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Retezat-VfBucura.jpg
Bucura Peak in the distance
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Retezat Mountain - Retezat Peak 04.JPG
Sunset on Retezat Peak
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Chata u Bucury.jpg
Salvamont shelter in Retezat
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Retezat Mountain - Spring Waterfall 02.JPG
Waterfall in Retezat National Park
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Lacul Bucura.jpg
Bucura Lake
See also
- Divisions of the Carpathians
- Iron Gates, at the South-Western end
- Prahova Valley, at the Eastern end
References
- ↑ Carpathians.pl
- ↑ Murgoci, G.M., 1905. Sur l'existence d'une grande nappe de recouvrement dans les Carpathes meridionales. C. R. Acad. Sci., 7: 31.
- ↑ Codarcea , A., 1940. Vues nouvelles sur la tectonique du Banat meridional et du Plateau de Mehedinți. D. S. Inst. Geol. Rom., 20: 1-74.
- ↑ Codarcea, A., Răileanu, G., Pavelescu, L., Gherasi, N., Năstăseanu, S., Bercia, I. and Mercus, D., 1961. Guide des excursions. Carpates Meridionales, București, 130 pp.
- ↑ Năstăseanu, S., Bercia, I., Iancu, V., Vlad and Hârtopanu, I., 1981. The structure of the South Carpathians (Mehedinți - Banat Area). Guidebooks series, 22. IGR, Bucuresti, 3-100 pp.
- ↑ Săndulescu, M., 1984. Geotectonica României. Editura Tehnică, București, 336 pp.
- ↑ Săndulescu, M. and Dimitrescu, R., 2004. Geological structure of the Romanian Carpathians, Florence, 48 pp.
- ↑ Mutihac, V., 1990. Structura geologică a teritoriului României. Editura Tehnică, Bucharest, 419 pp.
- ↑ Rădulescu, D. and Săndulescu, M., 1973. The plate-tectonics concept and the geological structure of the Carpathians. Tectonophysics, 16: 155-161.
External links
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- Southern Carpathians
- Mountain ranges of Romania
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