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Southern Carpathians

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Southern Carpathians
Romanian: Carpaţii Meridionali, Serbian: Južni Karpati
Range
Negoiu Peak (2535m)
Country Romania, Serbia1
Highest point Moldoveanu
 - elevation 2,544 m (8,346 ft)
 - coordinates 45°30′N 24°15′E / 45.5°N 24.25°E / 45.5; 24.25
Orogeny Alpine orogeny
Period Mostly Triassic
Location of the Southern Carpathians in Romania

The Southern Carpathians or the Transylvanian Alps (Romanian: Carpaţii Meridionali, Serbian: Južni Karpati, German: Transsilvanischen Alpen, Hungarian: Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges which divide central and southern Romania, on one side, and Serbia, on the other side.2 They cover part of the Carpathian Mountains that is located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiş and Cerna Rivers in the west. To the south they are bounded by the Balkan mountain range in Serbia.

Contents

Heights

Lake Vidraru in the Făgăraş Mountains

The Southern Carpathian group are the second highest group of mountains in the Carpathian Mountain range (after Tatra), reaching heights of over 2,500m. 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 tourist and scientists.

The highest peaks are:

In spite of the heights, some of the most accessible passings in the Carpathians in Romania are along the rivers who cross the mountain range (the Olt River) or who 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) 3, while the general understanding over the Alpine structure of the South Carpathians was later refined by Codarcea (1940) 4, Codarcea et al. (1961) 5, Năstăseanu et al. (1981) 6, Săndulescu (1984) 7, Săndulescu and Dimitrescu (2004) 8, and Mutihac (1990) 9. The first to apply the global tectonics concepts for the Romanian Carpathians were Rădulescu and Săndulescu (1973) 10.

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 inclues only Upper Jurassic - Lower Cretaceous sediments.

Mountain ranges

Lake Bucura in the Retezat Mountains
Glacial lakes in the Retezat Mountains
Landscape in the Parâng Mountains
The Sphynx of the Bucegi Mountains
Lake Bâlea in the Făgăraş Mountains
The Moldoveanu-peak (2544 m) is the highest in Romania and one of the highest peaks of the Carpathians

From east to west, four mountain groups can be identified, separated by different river valleys.

The first two groups are steepest on the North side, and the last two are steepest on the South side.

References

  1. ^ http://www.carpathians.pl/carpathians01.html
  2. ^ Carpathians.pl
  3. ^ Murgoci, G.M., 1905. Sur l'existence d'une grande nappe de recouvrement dans les Carpathes meridionales. C. R. Acad. Sci., 7: 31.
  4. ^ Codarcea , A., 1940. Vues nouvelles sur la tectonique du Banat meridional et du Plateau de Mehedinţi. D. S. Inst. Geol. Rom., 20: 1-74.
  5. ^ Codarcea, A., Răileanu, G., Pavelescu, L., Gherasi, N., Năstăseanu, S., Bercia, I. and Mercus, D., 1961. Guide des excursions. Carpates Meridionales, Bucureşti, 130 pp.
  6. ^ Năstăseanu, S., Bercia, I., Iancu, V., Vlad and Hârtopanu, I., 1981. The structure of the South Carpathians (Mehedinţi - Banat Area). Guidebooks series, 22. IGR, Bucuresti, 3-100 pp.
  7. ^ Săndulescu, M., 1984. Geotectonica României. Editura Tehnică, Bucureşti, 336 pp.
  8. ^ Săndulescu, M. and Dimitrescu, R., 2004. Geological structure of the Romanian Carpathians, Florence, 48 pp.
  9. ^ Mutihac, V., 1990. Structura geologică a teritoriului României. Editura Tehnică, Bucharest, 419 pp.
  10. ^ Rădulescu, D. and Săndulescu, M., 1973. The plate-tectonics concept and the geological structure of the Carpathians. Tectonophysics, 16: 155-161.

See also

External links

Coordinates: 45°30′N 24°15′E / 45.5°N 24.25°E / 45.5; 24.25

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Carpathian Mountains
Regions Map indicating the main divisions of the Carpathian Mountains

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