So, this chain runs from northeast Slovakia, western Ukrain and into the heart of Romania, north of the capital of Bucharest. most of them were formed from nappe character, or the rock being folded over and over to form huge steeples and massive faces. many of these nappes have different names throughout the region, depending if they are in the Inner or Outer Carpathians. In the eastern part of the Outer range, they were molded by Skole nappe, and the western part by Silesian nappe. There are others overlaying each other like Magura, Chernogora, and Tacau nappe. Now lets get the the Inner Carpathians. The Inner range is in the form of blocks, and some of these are the western block of central Slovakia, the east and southern blocks containing Eastern Serbia and Banat(the ethnic population name of most of Central Europe), Bihor Massif and Apuseni mountains of Romania, Bihor being the highest part of the Apuseni, Curcubăta Mare being it's highest peak at 6,066 feet. These mountains have ancient metamorphic cores that have been recrystallized, and younger sedimentary rocks such as limestone and dolomite have been thrust outward. the innermost range of the Carpathians was developed from Tertiary volcanic rock formations of about 50 million in age, but not consistent from west to east. Like in the picture, they arc from east to west, but are for the most part straight from north to south, flowing on the line of tectonic dislocation. now here are some of the rocks and formation that can be found in each block: central Slovakian Block has minor basins filled with Tertiary rocks, while the ranges have older formations. Mountain formation ended about 10 MYA in Romania, and due to the sedimentary rock upheaval, a sub division of the Carpathians formed off-brand to the true Carpations, creating a depression. The folding that formed the Inner range roughly ended around the late Cretaceous period (97.5-66.4 MYA) and as such, ancient Tertiary formation have survived. The later movements gave the range it's steep valleys and different flat-topped releif forms, giving the Danube river time to weave it's way through and develop several tributaries: the Vah, Hernad, and Olt. So were they affected by the Ice age? Of course! Well, at least the top parts of the Carpathians, where glaciers formed oly abou 10 miles lone, and 5,500 feet above sea level. So why are these mountains cruel for the clueless tourist? Well, considering the fact that they are very high and steep, the climate is very dry and retains a very cold air in the upper regions, which get about 70 inhces of precipitaion a year (that is a lot!!) and the temperatures are rarly consistant on a monthly basis, so you don't know what might happen while hiking. The forests of these areas of Europe are very thick with pine, spruce, oak, you name it. Just remember if you don't know the area, stick to the trails and never go off, because it is very easy to get lost.And you also might want to be extra careful when climbing these mountains, because there are bears, lynx, wolves and boars roaming around. If you're touring the Southern part of the Carpathians, get ready to camp in the cold, cause you might not find a lot of people very high up, so stick to the valleys where the population thrives. A quick guide to who might be in certain blocks: Western block is mainly inhabited by Czechs, Northern slope by the Polish, Central Western part by Slovacks, southern by Hungarians, the Northeast by Ukranians, the Transylvanian Plateau inhabited by Hungarians and Germans, and the Southwest beyon the Danube gap is where the Serbs reside. So if you don't speak any of these languages, get your Iphone app ready! Plus in my opinion, touring these mountains and appreciating its beauty and geology is not good to do on your own, but maybe with a tour company, like goabroad.com!
Some of the things you can find in these majestic, but dangerous mountains is the rich culture of of many eastern European countries. There are many ancient structures and castles lining and built on the edifices of the mountains, such as Rasnov Castle and Bran Castle, and many villages that are tourist friendly and have many fascinating tales to tell, such as Huedin in Romania, a town at the base of the Apuseni Mountains. If you every get a chance to go to Europe, and happen to love epic mountain ranges and culture, you know where to go! And here's some pictures from wikipedia of some of the fortresses and landscapes!!
Here's the fortress at Rasnov
And here's Bran Castle; one of the homes of Vlad Tepes himself.
Here's a pretty Carpathian view from the main website.
And one that's more epic!
And here's a magnificent formation near Brasov in Romania.
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