CARPA'THIAN MOUNTAINS, the mountains which inclose Hungary and Transyl vania on the n., c., and s. in a great semicircle (whose concavity is towards the s.w.), extending over a space of 800 m. from Presburg on the Danube to Orsova on the same river, between ]at. 44° 30: to 49° 40' n., long. 17° to 20° east. The C. M. form part of the great mountain system of central Europe, separated from the mountains of Silesia and :Moravia by the valley of the .31arch, and from the Alps and Mt. Iheinus by the valley of the Danube. Almost the whole of the C. M. lie within the Austrian dominions. They form two great masses, one in Ilungary to the n.w., and one in Transylvania to the s.e., with ranges of lower and wooded mountains between. The highest group of the Hungarian Carpathians is thatof Tatra or the Caipat, in the very n. of Hungary, a majestic mass of granite mountains, exhibiting much grandeur in its naked precipices, and in some of its peaks rising to the height of more than 8,000 ft., the Lomnitz peak being 8,133 ft. high. On the northern declivity of the Eisthal peak exists the only glacier in the Carpathians. The Tatra group is penetrated by 130 valleys, but only by wild ravines, and is separated from the rest of the range by deep depressions. There is a great differ
ence of climate between its southern and northern sides. These higher mountains yield few minerals, but the lower Carpathians of Hungary, which stretch around them in groups and ranges, abound in minerals of various kinds. The mines of Schemnitz (q.v.) are of great celebrity. Many of the Hungarian mountains are of limestone. The mountains of Transylvania are mostly of primitive rocks. On the eastern and southern borders, they reach the height of 9,000 ft. and upwards. Mt. Butschetjc, the culminat ing peak, has an elevation of 9,528 ft. above the sea. The C. 31. are generally clothed with wood to a height of more than 4,000 ft.—in some parts, forests are found at 5,500 ft.—and with steep precipices, narrow ravines, extinct craters, and cones of volcanic origin, they exhibit scenes of grandeur rarely exceeded. The lower parts of the mountains are beautifully clothed with vineyards, walnut groves, etc., above which ascend forests of cherry, beech, and pine. The ranges which connect the high mountains of Hungary with those of Transylvania are in great part composed of sandstone, have an unfruitful soil, and comparatively little population or cul tivation.