The Retezat Mountains ( ro, Munții Retezat, hu, Retyezát-hegység) are one of the highest massifs in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, being part of the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Pr ...

. The highest peak is

Peleaga Peleaga (Vârful Peleaga) is a mountain in Romania. It is the highest point in the Retezat Mountains with a summit elevation of above sea level.Păpușa The Retezat Mountains are some of the highest massifs in Romania, being part of the Southern Carpathians. One of the important peaks is Păpuşa (Varful Păpuşa), with a height of . The Retezat Mountains have many glacial lakes, including th ...

(Vârful Păpușa, "the Doll Peak") and

Retezat Peak Retezat can refer to: * Retezat National Park, Romania * Retezat Mountains The Retezat Mountains ( ro, Munții Retezat, hu, Retyezát-hegység) are one of the highest massifs in Romania, being part of the Southern Carpathians. The highest peak i ...

(Vârful Retezat). The name means "cut off" in Romanian. Retezat View over Bucura lake

Geography

The Retezat Mountains have many

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10, ...

s, including the largest glacial lake in Romania,

Bucura Lake Lake Bucura is a glacier cirque lake, situated in the Retezat Mountains, in Romania. It is located south of the main ridge, at the base of Peleaga Peak, and at an altitude of about 2,040 m. It is the largest glacier lake in Romania, having an ar ...

(Lacul Bucura), which covers and is situated at an altitude of . The area also contains the

Retezat National Park The Retezat National Park ( ro, Parcul Naţional Retezat) is a protected area (national park category II IUCN) located in the Retezat Mountains in Hunedoara county, Romania. Description Containing more than sixty peaks over and over hundred ...

, Romania's first national park.

River systems and lakes

The

tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

, lithologic and morphologic conditions present in the Retezat Mountains, correlated with the orientation of the ridges towards the main

air mass In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to l ...

es make this mountain group the most humid area in the Romanian Carpathians. The

hydrologic Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

network is divided into two main directions: north, towards the river

Strei The Strei ( hu, Sztrigy) is a left tributary of the river Mureș in Transylvania, Romania. The upper reach of the river, upstream of the village of Baru, is also known as ''Râul Petros''. It flows through the town Călan and the villages Pet ...

(the Mureș

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

) where all the rivers from the west, north, and north-east areas of the

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

are flowing and south, towards the river

Jiul de Vest The Jiul de Vest ("Western Jiu", previously also known as ) is a headwater of the river Jiu in Romania. At its confluence with the Jiul de Est in Iscroni, the Jiu is formed.Jiu drainage basin). The most important river course is Râul Mare, with an annual average flow of .

Waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

s are present on all water courses in the park. One of the specific features of the Retezat Mountains is the widespread presence of

s. Approximately 38% of the glacier lakes of Romania are found here, on the bottom of

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

s, grouped in lake clusters or isolated, and are one of the biggest tourist attraction of the park. Within the massif limits, there are 58 permanent glacier lakes, between . Some sources mention over 80 lakes, but here are most likely included the temporary ones as well. The surface of the lakes varies between ( Stânișoara I) and (Bucura), the largest glacier lake in Romania. The depth of the lakes varies between (Stânișoara I) and ( Zănoaga), while the volume is between ( Galeșul II) and (Zănoaga).

Flora

Of the approximately 3,500

plant species Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora''. Ety ...

that are found in Romania, over a third (about 1,200) can be found here. This is mainly the reason why this area was declared a

National park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

. There are over 90 plant species that are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to this area, the first one being discovered in 1858: Flămânzica (''Draba dorneri''). The alpine meadows are particularly important, as here are found most of the alpine species, such as members of the genera ''

Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their m ...

'', '' Potentilla'' and ''

Pulsatilla The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the ...

''. The

edelweiss EDELWEISS (Expérience pour DEtecter Les WIMPs En Site Souterrain) is a dark matter search experiment located at the Modane Underground Laboratory in France. The experiment uses cryogenic detectors, measuring both the phonon and ionization signal ...

can also be found here. At the limits between the rocky area and the alpine fields, species of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

(''Rhododendron kotschii'') can be found. The

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and So ...

, a protected species in Romania, can be found on all the steep slopes of the Retezat mountains, while the

Swiss pine ''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine or Arolla pine or Austrian stone pine or just stone pine, is a species of a pine tree in the subgenus ''Strobus''. Description The Swiss pine is a member of the white pine group ...

(''Pinus cembra'') has a wider distribution than in any other Romanian massif. Other species that can be found here are:

hawkweed ''Hieracium'' (), known by the common name hawkweed and classically as (from ancient Greek ιεράξ, 'hawk'), is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and closely related to dandelion ('' Taraxacum''), chicory (''Cichorium'') ...

(''Hieracium borzae'' and ''Hieracium nigrilacus''), members of the genus ''

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...

'' (''Centaurea pseudophrygia ratezatensis'', an endemic species), cat's ear ('' Hypochaeris maculata''), an endemic species of locoweed (''Oxytropis jacquinii retezatensis'') and ''

Gentiana lutea ''Gentiana lutea'', the great yellow gentian, is a species of gentian native to the mountains of central and southern Europe. Growth ''Gentiana lutea'' is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to tall, with broad lanceolate to elliptic leave ...

'' (ro. Ghinţura galbenă). On the

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

areas of the , a lot of rare or endemic species can be found, like ''Barbarea lepuznica'' (a species of the winter cress genus) or ''Pedicularis baumgarteni'', a species of the genus ''

Pedicularis ''Pedicularis'' is a genus of perennial green root parasite plants currently placed in the family Orobanchaceae (the genus previously having been placed in Scrophulariaceae '' sensu lato''). Description Between 350 and 600 species are acce ...

''. The biggest threat for the park's flora (especially the one found on the alpine fields), is

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

, as there are numerous herds of sheep. The species specific to this area are replaced by less fragile ones.

Fauna

Over 185 species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, more than half of the species that can be found in Romania, visit the park. Out of these, over 122 species

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

here. Rare birds, such as the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

, (also represented on the park logo),

lesser spotted eagle The lesser spotted eagle (''Clanga pomarina'') is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Acc ...

short-toed eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey bac ...

western capercaillie The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

, Eurasian pygmy-owl and the

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

reside here. There are 55 species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s within the park range. There are favorable conditions here for some of Europe's biggest predators to survive: the

gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is k ...

and the

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...

; some big

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

s like the

chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the R ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

and the

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

, while small

carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other so ...

such as the

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

and the European otter can also be found. In 1973, 20

alpine marmot The alpine marmot (''Marmota marmota'') is a large ground-dwelling squirrel, from the genus of marmots. It is found in high numbers in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe, at heights between in the Alps, Carpathians, Tatras and No ...

s, brought from the

Austrian Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent ...

, were introduced in the park and released in the Gemenele glacier lake caldera. Nowadays they are found all over the park, but the impact that this nonindigenous species had on other plants or animals is yet unknown. Also, after 1960, the

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

was introduced in some of the park lakes. Studies are now being performed to check if they are responsible for the decline in

amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

population through these lakes, observed during the last years. A subspecies of the smooth newt (''L. vulgaris ampelensis''), endemic to the Charpatian mountains, lives here, while the European common frog can be found all over the park. Although very few

common European viper ''Vipera berus'', the common European adderMallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . or common European viper,Stidworthy J. (1974). ...

bites were reported, tourists and villagers often kill them on sight. There are several endemic

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

species found here: nine endemic species of

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

, at least six species belonging to the

Plecoptera Plecoptera is an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the mos ...

order, and four belonging to the

Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

order.

Access

South Retezat Region

The southern approaches to the Retezat extend from the

Jiu Valley The Jiu Valley ( ro, Valea Jiului ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and th ...

city of Vulcan on the east end of the valley to Câmpușel on the west end of the valley. Although there are several points of entry into the Retezat Mountains from the towns of Vulcan,

Lupeni Lupeni (; German: ''Schylwolfsbach'', Hungarian: ''Lupény'') is a mining city in the Jiu Valley in Hunedoara County, Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. It is one of the oldest and largest cities in the Jiu Valley. It is located ...

, Uricani, Câmpul lui Neag, and points in between, direct access to the National Park begins in the Cheile Buții area (approximately west of

Petroșani Petroșani (; Hungarian: ''Petrozsény''; German: ''Petroschen'') is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 34,331 (2011). The city has been associated with mining since the 19th century. History "Pietros" means ...

) and extends west to Câmpușel.

North Retezat Region

The Retezat Mountains and the Retezat National Park are accessible from the north by way of Romania's Route 66 (DN-66) and/or by way of train, which runs alongside Route 66, from Petroșani to the southeast or

Simeria Simeria (; german: Fischdorf; hu, Piski) is a town in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, and an important railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled ...

to the north. From Route 66, there are several gateways into the Retezat Mountains. Almost all the villages along the highway, from Ohaba de sub Piatră, just outside

Hațeg Hațeg (; german: Wallenthal; hu, Hátszeg) is a town in Hunedoara County, Romania with a population of 9,340. Three villages are administered by the town: Nălațvad (''Nalácvád''), Silvașu de Jos (''Alsószilvás''), and Silvașu de Sus ( ...

, to Merișor, just outside Petroșani, have access roads that run south into the Retezat Mountains.

Highest peaks

The Retezat massif peaks with an elevation of over 2,300m are: *

2,508 m * Retezat 2,482 m *

Mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

2,463 m * Custura 2,457 m * Bucura 2,433 m * Sântămaria 2,400 m * Judele 2,398 m * Bucura II 2,372 m * Țapu 2,372 m * Custura Bucurei 2,370 m * Păpușa Mică 2,370 m * Bârlea 2,348 m * Slăveiu 2,347 m * Obârșia Nucșoarei 2,346 m * Morii 2,340 m * Ciumfu Mare 2,335 m * Șesele Mari 2,324 m * Valea Rea 2,311 m

Image gallery

Image:Retezat Mountain - Big Peak 01.JPG, Vârful Mare seen from the Galeșu Lake. Image:Retezat Mountain - Bucura Lake 01.JPG,

view from the camping site. Image:Retezat Mountain - Bucura Peak 01.JPG,

Bucura Peak The Bucegi Mountains (Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, t ...

as seen during spring from the

. Image:Jezera v pohoří Retezat.jpg, Glacial lakes in the Retezat Mountains Image:Retezat Mountain - Spring Waterfall 01.JPG, A small waterfall on the Stânișoara stream. Image:Retezat Mountain - Retezat Peak 01.JPG, Hikers going up the north face of the Retezat Peak. Image:Retezat Mountain - Taul dintre Brazi 01.JPG, The Pond Between the Firs (''Tăul dintre brazi''), a small non-glacial lake inside the national park. Image:Retezat Mountain - Retezat Peak 04.JPG, Sunset view from the Retezat Peak. Image:Retezat trio.jpg , The Peleaga, Bucura, and Păpușa peaks

External links

Official website of Retezat National ParkOnline climbing guide for Retezat MountainsAlpinetMaps of the RetezatJiu Valley Portal
- Romania's principal coalmining region and a gateway to the

Retezat - photographs + information in Czech
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Romania Mountain ranges of the Southern Carpathians