"Carpathian Mountains..." Europe Travelogue by coceng

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The Carpathian Mountains are the eastern wing of the great central mountain system of Europe curving 1500 km (~900 miles) along the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and the Ukraine.

The name is derived from the Slavonic word Chrb, which means mountain-range. As Chrawat, it was first applied to the inhabitants of the region, whence it passed in the form Krapat or Karpa as the name of the mountain range. In official Hungarian documents of the 13th and 14th centuries the Carpathians are named Thorchal or Tarczal, and also Montes Nivium.

They begin on the Danube near Pressburg, surround Hungary and Transylvania in a large semicircle, the concavity of which is towards the south-west, and end on the Danube near Orsova. The total length of the Carpathians is over 1500 km and their width varies between 12 and 500 km. The greatest width of the Carpathians corresponds with its highest altitude. Thus the system attains its greatest breadth in the Transylvanian plateau, and in the meridian of the Tatra group (the highest range with Gerlachovský - 2655 m (8705 ft.) above sea level <Slovakia territory>). It covers an area of 190 000 sq. km, and after the Alps is the most extensive mountain system of Europe.

The Carpathians do not form an uninterrupted chain of mountains, but consist of several orographically and geologically distinctive groups; in fact they present as great a structural variety as the Alps. The Carpathians, which only in a few places attain an altitude of over 2500 m, lack the bold peaks, the extensive snow-fields, the large glaciers, the high waterfalls and the numerous large lakes which are found in the Alps. They are nowhere covered by perpetual snow, and glaciers do not exist, so that the Carpathians, even in their highest altitude, recall the middle region of the Alps, with which, however, they have many points in common as regards appearance, structure and flora.

The Danube separates the Carpathians from the Alps, which they meet only in two points, namely, the Leitha Mountains at Pressburg, and the Bakony Mountains at Vacz (Waitzen), while the same river separates them from the Balkan Mountains at Orsova. The valley of the March and Odra 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 great central system of Europe, the Carpathians, which form the watershed between the northern seas and the Black Sea, are surrounded on all sides by plains, namely the great Hungarian plain on the south-west, the plain of the Lower Danube (Romania) on the south, and the Galician plain on the north-east.

The Carpathian Mountains form the southern edge of the outer ring of mountains around Mare Imbrium on Earth's Moon. They were raised by the same impact event that created the Imbrium basin, and separate Mare Imbrium from Oceanus Procellarum.

Mountain : Definition.

A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally much higher and steeper than a hill, but there is considerable overlap, and usage often depends on local custom.

A mountain is usually produced by the movement of lithospheric plates, either orogenic movement or epeirogenic movement. The compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upwards, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, a mountain. The absolute heights of features termed mountains and hills vary greatly according to an area's topography. The major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Mountain creation tends to occur in discrete periods, referred to as orogenies (orogeny). Two types of mountain are formed depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces - block mountains or fold mountains.

Some isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes, including many apparently small islands that reach a great height above the ocean floor.

Block mountains are created when large areas are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements. The uplifted blocks are block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben, these can be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa, the Vosges, the Basin and Range province of Western North America and the Rhine valley.

Where rock does not fault it folds, either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The upfolds are anticlines and the downfolds are synclines, in asymmetric folding there may also be recumbent and overturned folds. The Jura mountains are an example of folding. Over time erosion can bring about an inversion of relief, the soft upthrust rock is worn away so the anticlines are actually lower than the tougher rock of the synclines.

The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, set in the world's most significant mountain range, the Himalayas. Another contender for this title is Mauna Loa, which stands taller than Mount Everest when measured from its base on the ocean floor but not in terms of summit altitude. The tallest mountain in the solar system is Olympus Mons, located on Mars.

Some mountains are very difficult to climb, and offer spectacular views. Some people therefore enjoy the sport of mountaineering. Mountains are also the site for the sport of downhill skiing.