CARPA'THIAN MOUNTAINS. A moun tain system of Central Europe. extending in the form of a. broad arc along nearly the entire boundary of I-lung:try east of the Danube 'Hungary. IT 2). The arc, opening to the south west, embraces the plain of Hungary and the elevated basin of Transylvania (Siebenlairgen), separating the former front the Austrian prov inces of Moravia. Silesia, t:alicia. and Bitkowina on the northwest, north, and northeast. and the latter from Rumania on the east :Ind south. Both tongs of the arc rest upon the Danube, the one terminating near Presburg, where it is in juxta position to the Leitha range of the Austrian Alps, the other ending at nr,,,va, whore it confronts the northern extension of the Balkans. The of the system. following the curve, is about SOO miles. The Carpathian system is composed of numerous mountain groups \Odell exhibit a vari •ty of orographie and geological features. On the northwest the main elevations are included in the Kleine (Little Carpathians), the Gebirge (White Range), and the Neutra and 'nitro ranges. These ranges. with the bordering ranges of the West Beskiden and the Hungarian Erzgebirge, conv•rge in northern Hungary to form a mountain knot.. near the centre of which are the 1Tohe Tfitra :Mountains. the loftiest in the entire system. Eastward and southward the Carpathians are continued in a broad curve by the Ost Beskiden and by the \Valdgcbirgc into Transylvania, where the ranges widen out so as to surround on the east and west the basin of Transylvania, whose southern limit is the Tran sylvanian Alps.
The Carpathians include no summits that are comparable in elevation to the culminations of the Alps, but the mountains are frequently mas sive and imposing in appearance. The highest point of the system is the Gerlsdorferspitze of the Holm Tiitra Range, which is 8,737 feet. In
the same range are the Lomilitzerspitze, S64 ; EistItalerspitze, Sti:to feet ; and the Schlagendorferspitze. and other peaks extending S000 feet. In the eastern Carpathians there are many peaks from 5000 to over 7000 feet above the sea. The Transylvanian Alps. whose trend in the main is east. and west, present an almost unbroken mountain barrier crowned by jagged summits that reach au extreme height of over S000 feet, the loftiest peak, Negoi, being 831S feet. In general, the higher elevations of the Carpathians are composed of granite and crystal line rocks, while the outlying lower ranges are formed by upttlrned and folded sedimentary strata. :Nlesozoie sandstone is the prevailing for mation in the Beskiden, and granite, gneiss, and sehist in the Transylvanian Alps. Eruptive igneous rocks are found along the whole system, lint are most prominent in the Hungarian Erzge birge and in the ranges of Transylvania. These regions are noted for their deposits of gold, silver, lead, copper, and other metallic ores, which have been worked for many centuries, The Carpathian system forms the water-parting between the drainage basins of the Oder. Vistula. and Dnies ter, and of the middle Danube. Small lakes fre quently occur in the interior of the mountains, particularly in the Hobe Tatra, where more than 100 have been found. Some of them are at great elevations, and many are very deep. These lakes are called by the Hungarians 'Eyes of the Sea: There are no glaciers nor perennial Numerous passes cross the system. facilitating communication between Hungary and the border ing countries. The Carpathians are elothed with extensivt forests of oak, beceli, chestnut, and fir, which harbor bears, wolves, and lynxes. See 'HUNGARY, and TRANSYLVANIA.