Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly 1,500 km (932 mi) long across Central Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe (after the Scandinavian Mountains, 1,700 km (1,056 mi)). They provide the habitat for the largest European populations of brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynxes, with the highest concentration in Romania, as well as over one third of all European plant species. The Carpathians and their foothills also have many thermal and mineral waters, with Romania having one-third of the European total. Romania is likewise home to the largest surface of virgin forests in Europe (excluding Russia), totaling 250,000 hectares (65%), most of them in the Carpathians, with the Southern Carpathians constituting Europe’s largest unfragmented forested area.

The Carpathians consist of a chain of mountain ranges that stretch in an arc from the Czech Republic (3%) in the northwest through Slovakia (17%), Poland (10%), Hungary (4%) and Ukraine (11%) to Romania (53%) in the east and on to the Iron Gates on the River Danube between Romania and Serbia (2%) in the south. The highest range within the Carpathians is the Tatras, on the border of Slovakia and Poland, where the highest peaks exceed 2,600 m (8,530 ft). The second-highest range is the Southern Carpathians in Romania, where the highest peaks exceed 2,500 m (8,202 ft).

Montes Carpatus

Montes Carpatus is a mountain range that forms the southern edge of the Mare Imbrium on the Moon. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 14.5° N, 24.4° W, and the formation has an overall diameter of 361 km (224 mi). They were named after the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe.

This rugged range generally stretches from west to east. The western end begins in the vicinity of the crater T. Mayer, although a few low ridges curve northwards towards Euler crater. At the eastern extreme is a wide gap where Mare Imbrium in the north joins Mare Insularum to the south. Starting at the east side of this gap are the Montes Apenninus, another mountainous range that curves up towards the northeast.

Most of this range consists of a series of peaks and rises, separated by valleys that have been penetrated by lava flows. None of the peaks have received individual names, unless one includes Mons Vinogradov to the west of the crater Euler. The surface to the north of the range is nearly level lunar mare, broken only by the occasional wrinkle ridge or minor impact crater.