Satellite image of the Carpathians.
Abandoned observatory in Carpathia (Ukraine)

The Carpathian Mountains[1] are the eastern wing of the great Central Mountain System of Central Europe, curving 1500 km (~900 miles) along the borders of Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Serbia, and northern Hungary.[2]

Geography

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The Carpathians begin on the Danube near Bratislava. They surround Transcarpathia and Transylvania in a large semicircle, sweeping towards the south-west, and end on the Danube near Orşova, in Romania. The total length of the Carpathians is over 1,500 km, and the mountain chain's width varies between 12 and 500 km.

The Carpathians are separated from the Alps by the Danube.

Divisions

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Map of the Carpathian subdivisions.

Horizontal division

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A major part of the western and northeastern Outer Carpathians in Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia is traditionally called Beskids.

Vertical and general division

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Inner Western Carpathians, High Tatras, Poland.
Inner Western Carpathians, High Tatras, Slovakia.

What follows is a practical outline of the Carpathian subdivisions (clockwise from the west, numbers refer to the map):

Notes

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  1. (Romanian: Munţii Carpaţi; Polish, Czech, and Slovak: Karpaty; Ukrainian: Карпати (Karpaty); German: Karpaten; Serbian: Karpati / Карпати; Hungarian: Kárpátok)
  2. "Features of autumn holidays in the Carpathians".

47°00′N 25°30′E / 47.000°N 25.500°E / 47.000; 25.500