The Romanian Carpathians () are a section of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

, within the borders of modern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of the Alps-Himalaya System and are further divided into "

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

" and "subprovinces". This is an overview of the geological subdivisions of the Romanian section of the Carpathian Mountains. The broadest divisions are shown in the map on the right. The last level of the division, i.e. the actual mountain ranges and basins, is usually called "units". The lowest-level detail for those units is maintained on separate pages.

Naming conventions

Traditional Romanian naming conventions differ from this list. In

, it is usual to divide the

Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

in Romanian territory into three geographical groups (North, Centre, South), instead in Outer and Inner Eastern Carpathians. The

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

is encircled by, and geologically a part of, the Carpathians, but it is not a mountainous region and its inclusion is disputed in some sources. Its features are included below. The Outer Carpathian Depressions lay outside the broad arc of the entire formation and are usually listed as part of the individual divisions of the Carpathian Mountains, i.e. of Western Carpathians, Eastern Carpathians etc.

Romanian divisions

The Romanian Carpathians chain is classified, according to the geomorphological and geological differences, into three major morphotectonic units: * Eastern Romanian Carpathians (''Carpații Orientali'') - with 3 main groups subdivided into 40 mountain groups *

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ; ) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and ...

(''Carpații Meridionali'') - with 4 main groups subdivided into 24 mountain groups * Western Romanian Carpathians (''Carpații Occidentali Românești'') - with 3 main groups subdivided into 18 mountain groups

Eastern Romanian Carpathians

Romanian classification

The Eastern Carpathians are divided into three geographical groups; the Romanian approach is shown by adding the following abbreviations to the names of units within Romania: * MMB = Maramureș-Bukovinian Carpathians (''Munții Carpați ai Maramureșului și Bucovinei'') (North group) * MMT = Moldavian-Transylvanian Carpathians (''Munții Carpați Moldo-Transilvani'') (Centre group) * MC = Curvature Carpathians (''Munții Carpați de Curbură'') (South group)

Other classification

* Outer Eastern Carpathians ** Moldavian-Muntenian Carpathians *

Inner Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya S ...

** "Volcanic Ridge" (the Romanian portion of the Vihorlat-Gutin Area group) ** Bistrița Mountains ** Căliman-Harghita Mountains ** Giurgeu-Brașov Depression

Southern Romanian Carpathians

Bucegi Mountains The Bucegi Mountains ( ) 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 Peak, Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, the Bucegi Mountains ha ...

Group * Făgăraș Mountains group * Parâng Mountains group * Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group

Western Romanian Carpathians

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

* Poiana Ruscă Mountains * Banat Mountains

Transylvanian Plateau

External links

Pictures and landscapes from the Romanian Carpathians
{{coord missing, Romania Mountain ranges of Romania Lists of landforms of Romania Mountain ranges of the Eastern Carpathians Mountain ranges of the Western Romanian Carpathians Mountain ranges of the Southern Carpathians