The message about the Carpathians. Where are the Carpathians located? Country, features and interesting facts

The Ukrainian Carpathians generously reward everyone who comes to these lands with a stunning picture of natural landscapes, beauty, joy, health. Every corner of the Ukrainian Carpathians is distinctive and unique. Here, the gardens and forests, untouched meadows, are pleasing to the eye. In winter, the Carpathians are especially visited and attractive for lovers of active ski holidays.

Geographical reference

Huge mountain system Carpathian mountains starts near Bratislava (Slovakia) and ends in the southeast of Romania. The total length of the Carpathians is approximately 1600 km. They surround the Central European Lowland with a large arc on three sides. In the northwestern section, their width is 250 km, and in the southwestern section, 350 km, in the southeast, where they are located Ukrainian Carpathians, it narrows to 100-130 km.
Depending on the location and biogeographic structure, the Carpathians are divided into Southern, Eastern, Western. The Western Carpathians are localized on the territory of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and partly in Hungary, where the most high mountain Carpathians - Gerlach (2665 m). The northern ones are equatorially located on the territory of Romania, the eastern ones in Slovakia and Poland, as well as on the territory of Western Ukraine.
The average height of the Ukrainian Carpathians is 1000 m. The Carpathians are 3.5% of the territory of the whole Ukraine. They stretch from northwest to southeast for almost 290 km with an average width of 110 km.
The Carpathians are located on the territory of 4 regions of Ukraine: Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Transcarpathian, Lvov.
The Carpathians are symbolically divided into 2 parts - Transcarpathia and Prykarpattia. Prykarpattya is Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions, Uzhgorod region and Transcarpathian is Transcarpathia. The Carpathians are low, of volcanic origin, average height about 1300-1500 meters. The highest mountain is located in the area of ​​the village of Yablunytsya - this is a mountain

Flora and fauna of the Carpathians

The Carpathians are a mountainous strip notable for the fact that untouched forests, rare for Europe, have been preserved on its territory. The Carpathian mountains are mostly "soft", rounded without rocky outcrops Mountain peaks... On the plateau they grow Slightly lower, on the slopes of the mountains, you can often stumble upon thickets of blackberries. Warm summer mountain landscapes are complemented by large herds, cows and sheep.
The main part of the Carpathians is covered with beech and
In addition to spruce and beech, they also grow in the Carpathian Mountains.
The composition of beech forests also includes ordinary ash, Norway maple, and mountain elm, they have almost disappeared in the Carpathian mountains, if they are found, then only in hard-to-reach places.
On the upper slopes of the Carpathian Mountains there are "alpine" meadows, which are still rich in very rare species of flora. In particular, an amazing plant - the East Carpathian rhododendron. In the Carpathians, it is called "alpine rose" due to its bright pink flowers... Here, high in the mountains, are the sources of many rivers of the Western region of Ukraine: the Prut and Cheremosh, they are rightfully considered one of the cleanest rivers in Eastern Europe.
In the mountain ranges of the Carpathians, many thousands of years ago, salt caves were formed, as well as dense deposits of rock salt. As a rule, above such caves there are salt lakes, chemically similar to the "Dead Sea" in Israel. These lakes are much smaller in area, but they are not inferior in healing properties.

The Ukrainian Carpathians are very diverse. The main factor of separation is a sharp change in mountain heights - from 160 m to 2081 m. Along with the altitude, the temperature and humidity conditions change.
The climate is mainly moderately continental, warm, with cyclonic interventions of the Atlantic air. average temperature the warmest month (July) in the foothills is from +19 to + 22 ° С, in the alpine zone from +9 to + 12 ° С, the coldest month is from -5 to -15 ° С in January.
in summer there are two rain days out of every seven days. In general, unstable spring, not very hot summer, warm, dry autumn and mild winter are very typical for the Carpathian Mountains. Figuratively, the Carpathians can be divided into a number of mountain climatic zones:
The Highlands zone is an area of ​​a rather cold and very humid climate.
The Middle Mountain zone is a zone of moderately cold, humid climate.
The Carpathian zone is a zone of warm and moderately humid climate.
The Low Mountain Zone is a very humid climate zone.
The Transcarpathian zone is a zone of fairly warm, moderately humid climate.
The climate inside the described zones is homogeneous everywhere. Its continentality is increasing from west to east.
In Transcarpathia, the southern region stands out quite sharply against the general temperature background. Summer is often sultry here. Droughts are common. Very strongly affects the climate mountainous relief... Each river valley and mountain slopes often have their own special individual microclimate.

Population of the Carpathians


Lemkos live on the slopes, between the Syan and Poprad rivers, in the Perechinsky and Velyky Bereznyansky districts of Transcarpathia. The first mention of them in written sources appears in the sixth century BC. Boyki live in Lviv, Transcarpathian and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
The “Russian trinity” - Yakov Golovatsky, Ivan Vagilevich, Markian Shashkevich considered the boykov to be the offspring of Celtic tribes who lived in Central Europe from the sixth century BC, and moved to the Balkans closer to the first century.
Hutsuls live in Transcarpathian, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk.
In the 17-18th century, there were many rebels among the Hutsuls, oprishkov - the people's avengers.

Carpathian culture

Even for a long time, being in the structure of different states, although they could not protect themselves from merging with Poles, Hungarians, Slovaks. It was the inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the Carpathians who preserved the most archaic cultural features, which, at least slightly, but differed from those of Polissya.
It seems that in the mountains, almost everyone is a singer, artist, bright creative personality. And it was by the hands of such people that the most beautiful wooden churches were built in the mountains, which were built without a single nail ... The main decoration of these churches were unique icons painted on glass.
Most of them, today, are kept in museum collections.
Today, like many hundreds of years ago, the population of the Carpathians adorns their clothes with bright embroidery.
Bukovinskaya, Pokutskaya, Transcarpathian, ... Any of them is inimitable and unique and they all look like a bright flower garden.
It blooms with beautiful patterns on pillows, towels, shirts.
From generation to generation they are passed on in the Carpathians and ancient art Easter eggs (ritual painting of Easter eggs). In the Carpathians, they know that Easter eggs help in different life situations: their signs-symbols bring people prosperity, health and love, and fertility to the Carpathian land.

Carpathian national characteristics

In the mountainous Carpathian area are seeing off the shepherds to the mountain valley, Carpathian wedding and religious, church holidays, for example, Christmas with Christmas carols and generosity, "Vasily" (old New Year), "Vodokrescheniya", "Melanka", and, of course, Easter with Easter "hawks".
A great holiday - a carnival for local Carpathian residents - is to the distant mountain meadows for grazing. Grazing takes place from early May and lasts until mid-September. The living conditions of the shepherds in the mountain valley are difficult,
They work from dawn to dusk, and yet every Carpathian resident does not mind becoming a high-mountain shepherd.
Three details that characterize the life of Carpathian shepherds are vatra, trembita and feta cheese. like a fairy tale.
Even today, the inhabitants of the Carpathians adhere to their traditions. They still dress up in national embroidered clothes, decorate their horses. The wedding is full of funny and colorful fun, dances, songs, games, witticisms, jokes. None of the weddings is complete without loaves and loaves, embroidered, hand-woven towels, bouquets.
Preparations for start early.
All Carpathian housewives in the early morning of January 6, light a "live fire" of twelve logs in the ovens and cook
Among the dishes of the Holy Christmas Supper, the main place is kutia
(boiled wheat with the addition of honey, poppy seeds and nuts.)
The Easter holiday in the Carpathians is distinguished by an abundance of ritual customs and actions. On Palm Sunday, the inhabitants of the Carpathians bring from the church a consecrated palm branch (a joke) and lightly hit each member of their family with it, saying: “I’m not hitting you, this joke is hitting — henceforth, Easter will be in the week!”
The consecrated willow branch in the concept of the ancestors of the Carpathian inhabitants has healing properties. The end of Lent is the time for scribbling krashanoks. Each Carpathian village has its own unique craftsmen.

Carpathian cuisine

They are distinguished by three features: natural, satisfying, tasty. It should be consumed at least during a vacation in the Carpathians. The inhabitants of the Carpathians, who eat natural, organic products, live a very long time. Milk from the Carpathian high-mountainous meadows is no worse than the Alpine one. with porcini mushrooms, a variety of porridges have been cooked here for several hundred years and, of course, they have mastered this culinary art to perfection. After the Carpathian breakfast, you will have enough strength even for a long trekking mountain trek. Most of the traditional Carpathian dishes are in perfect harmony with homemade moonshine, however, as well as with expensive alcoholic drinks.
Ancient drunken Carpathian drinks deserve special attention, for example
They are widely used today in the national Carpathian cuisine.

All restaurants and cafes in the Carpathians will certainly offer you traditional Carpathian cuisine: pancakes, borsch, potato dumplings,. Of course, they will also offer a wide range of European dishes.
Carpathian dishes are original and at the same time very easy to prepare. The main ingredients of the Carpathian cuisine are wheat and corn flour, potatoes, mushrooms, pork or beef, fish.
has long been known for its abundance of homemade smoked meats.
The epoch-making dwelling of Carpathian shepherds on summer pastures is the kolyba - an original wooden building, usually round in shape, usually with a high roof, usually in the shape of a cone or triangle. Today, every tourist will be able to visit the kolyba without even climbing high in the Carpathians, since today kolyba are, as a rule, small private restaurants and shops built, often along the road.

Safety and rules of conduct

1. Kindly light and watch closely the kindling of camp stoves and campfires.
It is always necessary to dig in a fire pit so that sparks do not fall into the dry grass around. Leaving the parking lot, do not forget to fill the place where the fire was with water. Often in popular places of tourist camps there are already prepared places where it is possible and desirable to make a fire. It is always best to look for such a place first, if possible.
Moreover, as a rule, these are ideal places for parking.
... Better to look for dry branches.
3. If after resting, parking you have unnecessary plastic bags and paper - burn them in the fire.
4. Tin containers and cans left after rest in the Carpathians and food - it is better to burn them in a fire until they are black, crush them with an ax or a stone, and then be sure to bury them, on the surface of the earth they can cause serious injuries.
5. Never leave garbage after a vacation in the Carpathians.
6. Never destroy places to rest or drink water built by someone before you.
7. Do not pollute streams, springs, mineral springs. You and others of them should drink.
8. Do not pick unnecessarily berries and flowers, do not break branches of green living trees.
9. Do not frighten grazing cows, sheep, goats
10. there are difficulties with the direction of movement, it is always better to check with the local population. Usually locals measure distances by travel time.
11. When going on a hike on, on, or, dress in clothing appropriate for the hiking conditions.

The Carpathian climate is clean and creates favorable conditions for the healing of the body. As a rule, tourist camps, rest houses and sanatoriums in the Carpathians are located in picturesque corners, near mountain lakes, in river valleys, at the base of mountains and on mountain slopes, surrounded by dense Carpathian forests.
Healing natural resources The Carpathians and the modern medical and technical base make it possible to obtain a significant effect in the treatment of diseases of the liver and biliary tract, gastrointestinal tract, metabolic disorders, defects of the musculoskeletal system, disorders of cardiovascular and nervous activity.

Carpathians - is a mountain system in Central Europe, on the territory of Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and partly Austria. One of the most attractive, in terms of its availability, types of recreation is rest in Ukraine.

width: 100%; filter: wave (add: 180 freq = 10 phase = 20 color = orange); font-weight: bold; font-size: 18pt; color: # 8A2BE2; line-height: 100%; font-family : Monotype Corsiva; "> If you go to the Carpathians in winter, it’s first of all to ski, because you will have an amazing opportunity. The most prestigious and promoted resort is Bukovel. Every ski lover will find entertainment to his taste. Trails of any complexity, comfortable lifts, a lot of food outlets, excellent equipment rental - Bukovel will provide all this.

It should be noted that the mountain system of the Carpathians is also an area with amazingly beautiful terrain, fresh mountain air, and beautiful great and proud black rocks.

The name of the mountains comes from the Dacian carp tribes who lived here. The geographer Ptolemy, who first mentioned carps, also named the Carpathians for the first time, although he placed the tribe at some distance from the mountains of the same name due to a distorted idea of ​​their extent and topography.

The large mountain system of the Carpathians begins near Bratislava (Slovakia) and ends in the southeast near the "Iron Gate" in Romania. The length of the Carpathian Mountains is about 1500 km.

In the northwestern part, the width is 240 km., In the southwestern part - 340, in the northeastern part 100-120 km. Depending on the location and features, the Carpathians are divided into Western, Eastern and Southern.

The highest point of the Carpathians is Mount Gerlach - 2655 meters. The Carpathians are exactly that mountain system, which is original in that ancient forests, unique for central Europe, have been preserved on its territory, and the mountains themselves are flat, without rocky ledges.

Lingonberries and blueberries grow on the plateau. Below, on the slopes of the mountains, thickets of blackberries are widespread. In summer, countless flocks of sheep can be seen on the mountain slopes. The main part of the Carpathians is covered with coniferous and beech forests. In addition to spruce and beech, oak, hornbeam, pine, alder, cherry, walnut, etc. also grow.

On the tops of the mountains, you can find alpine meadows, where you can find many types of plants. Many rivers of the western region of Ukraine originate here - Prut, Cheremosh, Limnitsa, which is considered one of the cleanest rivers in Europe!

There are many places on our planet that can surprise you with their beauty and uniqueness. One of such marvelous corners of nature is the Carpathian Mountains.

Description of the mountain system

Their arc passes through the territory of Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Austria. In the mountain system, one can distinguish the Western, Eastern, Southern Carpathians, as well as the Western Romanian mountains. And between them is the Transylvanian Plateau. Eastern the system is distinguished by the highest seismological hazard in Europe. So, in 1940, a devastating earthquake occurred in Romania, in which about 1000 people died. And 1977 brought with it even greater disaster. The number of victims exceeded one and a half thousand, and tremors were felt even in Leningrad and Moscow.

The Carpathian Mountains are very diverse in their relief, structure, and landscape. The height at which the Transylvanian Plateau is located, for example, is 600-800 meters. The most high point systems - Gerlahovski-Shtit. It is located 2655 meters above sea level. Basically, the Carpathians stretch for 800-1200 meters. This is relatively small, and therefore this mountain system is quite passable. At an altitude of 500 to 1000 meters, railways and the highway.

The Carpathian Mountains are of great economic importance, because there are deposits such as gas, oil, ozokerite, marble, stone, mercury, coal and brown coal. There are also deposits of manganese and rare and non-ferrous metals.

Fauna and flora

Concerning flora, then it is completely subject to the laws of clarity. The lower belt is occupied by oak forests, which are gradually replaced by beeches at an altitude of 800 to 1300 meters. Although mainly beech forests can be found in the Western Romanian mountains and the southern part of the Carpathians. With an increase in altitude, they give way to mixed forests, where, in addition to beeches, firs and spruces also grow. Forests end at an altitude of 1500-1800 meters. Conifers mainly grow here: spruce, pine, larch. They are being replaced by subalpine shrubs and meadows. In this belt you can find juniper, alder, dwarf pine. Even higher - alpine meadows and shrubs, which in some places alternate with rocks and talus. On the most high peaks the rocks are bare or covered with lichens.

However, the picture of the distribution of vegetation in the Carpathians has changed very significantly. So, if earlier oak and oak-beech forests grew in the foothills, now they are completely cut down, and in their place are vineyards and arable lands. And many are also practically reduced to naught.

To preserve natural landscapes, reserves and parks were opened on the territory of almost all countries where the Carpathian Mountains are located. The description of the animal world can be reduced to the concept of forest fauna. Martens, bears, hares, squirrels, wolves, lynxes, wild boars, deer, chamois, roe deer, wood grouses, owls, woodpeckers, and cuckoos are widespread in the reserves and outside them.

Population

We have already said a few words about economic activity person. It should be noted that the Carpathian Mountains are unevenly populated. Of course, mainly people have chosen the foothills for themselves, where conditions are very favorable for gardening and field cultivation. As already mentioned, vineyards are widespread, which means that winemaking is held in high esteem in these parts. But you can find settlements in the mountains. People there are mainly engaged in cattle breeding.

Rest corner

The Carpathian Mountains are an excellent place to relax. Tourists love to come here to go mountaineering, ride alpine skiing or snowboards. There are several world famous Krynica and Zakopane, Hungarian Paradfyurde and Bükksek, Czechoslovak Tatranska Lomnica or Piestany. And of course, the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine. Clean air, magnificent nature, hospitable hosts, unique historical heritage. And, importantly, the absence of a language barrier. The most popular among the guests of the region are Mizhgirya, Svalyava, Yablunitsa, Yaremche. Rest houses, sanatoriums, boarding houses, ski resorts of Ukraine offer to explore the Carpathians not only on skis and snowboards, but also on bicycles, jeeps, on foot or on horseback. For hunters, there are wonderful hunting grounds. As well as exciting excursions, cozy cafes, quiet streets and great mood.

Ukraine is rich in enchanting natural beauty, first of all it is a magnificent mountain range Carpathians. Other countries can only dream of such a source of clean air, spring water and wildlife... Carpathians are on the territory different countries- Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, as well as Slovakia, Hungary, Poland.
The Southern Carpathians are located on the territory of Romania, and the Eastern ones are located in Ukraine (on the territory of the Transcarpathian, Lviv, Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

Map of Ukrainian Carpathians

At some point in the daily hustle and bustle, there comes the realization that our body simply needs at least a short break. Even a few days spent in this nature reserve, are able to quickly relieve psychological fatigue and charge you with optimism and good mood for a long time. Rapid mountain rivers, fog that covers the valleys in the morning, mountains covered with sharp peaks of coniferous trees - this beauty cannot be described in words and is even more difficult to get around on foot. Perhaps, after traveling to such beauties, you will want to move to Ukraine, you can study the materials on immigration to Ukraine on the website at the link and find there all the information you need to make the move, experts will help you at all stages.

The secret of a spring holiday in the Carpathians is that it is based on complete freedom of action. Someone will like morning fishing, someone will want to conquer the local mountain peaks, while others will appreciate the quality of service, which is by no means inferior to advanced European resorts.

Interactive map of the Carpathian Mountains

Probably, ideal place for a May holiday in the Carpathians, you can call the village of Slavskoe. There are several reasons for this. The natural location of the Beskydy and Gorgan ranges around this settlement created a unique local microclimate that ensures constant calm weather. In spring, beautiful landscapes with evergreen coniferous forests on the slopes of the mountains open up here, which beckon to walk along them.
You can always usefully walk in the mountains. Fans of excursions and national history will discover a lot of interesting things. To do this, you just need to visit local attractions: Kamensky waterfall, Tustan castle, Khashchovanskoye lake and many, many others. In Slavskoe, you will definitely be advised to go to look at the rocks of Dovbush - a legendary place where, according to legend, the people's avenger hid part of the gold taken from the rich. The cave monastery located right there will surprise even the experienced traveler.
The month of May is an ideal opportunity to recuperate after a cold winter, to stock up on vital energy for a very long time, and I decided to give myself unforgettable memories, at the same time to buy a corner shelving unit, I think I can find suitable option in the online store. Of course, you can take this chance to go to distant overseas resorts, but such a vacation will be very expensive. It would be much faster, more comfortable and cheaper to spend the weekend in your home corner. And there is such a corner! You can feel the full power of the awakening of nature, plunge into its bright green splendor in the Carpathian Mountains.
After spending the whole day in the fresh May air, in the evening you will certainly want to take a break from the impressions. Both comfortable hotel rooms and cozy private cottages are at your service. For more active rest shops, pharmacies, cafes, bars, restaurants, billiard rooms, discos are always available to tourists.
If you get a little tired of unity with nature, you can always visit regional or regional centers, enjoy their architectural sights, and get acquainted with the history. An hour or two by car, and now Lviv, Yaremche, Ivano-Frankivsk, Uzhgorod and other cities will gladly open their doors for you.

The Carpathians are located in the western region of Ukraine on the border with Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Romania. The Carpathian Mountains are located in four regions of Ukraine - Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lvov and Transcarpathian. The Carpathians have a rich culture, interesting traditions and culture. The Carpathians can be conditionally divided into two parts - Transcarpathia, which includes the Transcarpathian region, and the Carpathian region, located in the Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, the southern part of the Lviv region is also located in the Carpathian Mountains.

The highest point of the Carpathians is Mount Hoverla with a height of two thousand sixty-one meters, next to it are other two-thousand-meter peaks of the Carpathians - Pop-Ivan, Khomyak, Petros. The territory occupied by the Carpathian Mountains is densely populated, people live even on the tops of the mountains, in the Carpathians, civilization does not interfere with the preservation of ancient traditions. Tourism is somewhat less developed than, for example, in the Crimea, but this allows the nature of the Carpathians to remain as pure and untouched as it was of old. There are many mountain rivers flowing in the Carpathians, some of which are among the cleanest in all of Europe. The rivers of the Carpathians are home to a large variety of fish species, and fishing in the Carpathians is a real pleasure. Trout is found in the rivers of the Carpathians, which, as you know, lives only in the cleanest bodies of water. There are also many clean and beautiful lakes in the Carpathian Mountains, the most famous of which is Synevyr Lake, which is considered the cleanest.

The Carpathians are a complex system of en-echelon mountain ranges and ridges, separated by longitudinal and transverse valleys. Orographically divided into Western, Eastern (part of which is the Ukrainian Carpathians) and Southern. The Carpathians also include the Western Romanian Mountains, adjacent to the South Carpathians from the north, and the vast Transylvanian plateau. The highest height of the Carpathians is Gerlahovski-Shtit (2655 m), prevailing heights of 800-1200 m. The Transylvanian plateau is located at an altitude of 600-800 m.

Along the entire outer side of the Carpathian arc, there is a strip of foothills (40-60 km), composed mainly of loose Neogene sediments (sandstones, clays, gypsum, etc.). The foothills of the Western Carpathians are dissected by the valleys of the Morava, Odra, Vistula rivers and their tributaries and hollows (Auschwitz, Sandomierz), the bottoms of which lie at an altitude of 200-300 m. Within the Eastern Carpathians, the relief of the foothills is hilly-ridge (400-500 m), and in the south and southeast (height 800-1000 m) it takes on the appearance of low mountains. There are areas with clay and salt karst and active mud volcanoes.

Carpathian mountains. Photo: Giorgio Monteforti

The entire outer edge of the Carpathian Mountains from the river. Morava to r. Dymbovitsa is composed mainly of flysch, which determines the prevalence of rounded peaks and gentle slopes on the northern and eastern slopes. Sharper relief forms most often correspond to outcrops of dense massive sandstones (Gorgan, Bieszczady). The central zone of the Carpathians is formed by a discontinuous chain of block massifs, composed of crystalline rocks (granites, gneisses), limestones, etc. The highest massifs are the Tatras, Nizkiye Tatry, Rodna, Fagarash, Paryng, Retezat (more than 2 thousand m). Ridge ridges often bear traces of the Pleistocene glaciation. Alpine landforms are most clearly expressed in the Tatra and Fagaras massifs. Due to the rather wide distribution of limestones and dolomites, many regions of the Carpathian Mountains are characterized by karst relief forms, especially pronounced in the massifs of Slovak Kras, Hegimash, Anina.

A strip of volcanic massifs stretches along the inner side of the Carpathian arc. In the west, their height usually does not exceed 1000 m (Kremnické mountains, Stiavnické mountains, Vigorlat massif, etc.). Sometimes they have the appearance of mesas, in places they form sharp contours. In the east, the volcanic mountains rise and in the Caliman massif reach a height of 2102 m (Mount Pietros). Western Romanian mountains (height up to 1848 m) consist of massifs characterized by sharp relief forms. Karst is developed. Most of the intramontane basins of the Carpathians are of tectonic origin.

Between the Southern and Eastern Carpathians and the Western Romanian mountains - the Transylvanian plateau, composed mainly of loose Neogene sediments, in places covered by loesses. The modern relief of the plateau is characterized by a complex combination of hilly hills, flat upland surfaces and river valleys. There are mud volcanoes on its outskirts.

Due to the relatively low altitude, the Carpathians are relatively easily passable, especially in the central part. The main passes through which the railroad was carried. and highways are located mainly at an altitude of 500-1000 m (Dukelsky, Yablopitsky, Predeal, etc.).

The Carpathians are one of the main watersheds in Europe. The rivers of the Vistula and Odra basins, covering a significant part of the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, give water to the Baltic Sea. Most of the rivers of the Carpathians belong to the Danube basin, the rivers of the northeastern slopes - to the Dniester basin. The annual runoff ranges from 50-100 mm in the foothills of the Carpathians to 800-1000 mm and more in the highlands.

The rivers are fed by mixed snow and rain. Their regime is characterized by sharp fluctuations in water discharge throughout the year. The highest costs are in spring (due to snow melting) and in the first half of summer (due to heavy rains). The rivers of the Carpathians have significant reserves of electricity, many of them are used for irrigation purposes. There are few lakes in the Carpathians. They are found mainly in the highlands, where they fill the bottoms of ancient cars.

The Carpathians are an original mountain system in that primeval forests, unique for Central Europe, have been preserved on its territory. The mountains themselves are "soft", without rocky outcrops, mountain peaks - mountain valleys. This is a part of the mountain above 1400 m, on which no forest grows. Blueberries and lingonberries grow on the plateau. A little lower, on the slopes of the mountains, you can always find thickets of blackberries. In summer, the mountain landscape is complemented by numerous flocks of sheep. Along the way, sheep milk is collected, from which sheep farmers immediately make sheep curd (which is used to make delicious Carpathian feta cheese).

The main part of the Carpathians is covered with coniferous and beech forests. In addition to spruce and beech, oak, hornbeam, pine, larch, alder, cherry, and walnut also grow in the Carpathians. The primeval beech forests also include Norway maple, common ash and mountain elm, which have almost disappeared in many regions of the Carpathians and are found only in remote areas. On the upper slopes of the mountains - "alpine" meadows, rich in rare species of flora. In particular, it is an endemic plant - East Carpathian rhododendron. Thanks to its bright pink flowers, it is popularly called the "alpine rose". Here are the sources of many rivers of the Western region of Ukraine: Prut and Cheremosh, Lemnitsa, which are considered one of the cleanest rivers in Europe.

In the Carpathian region, there are three ethnic groups - Lemkos, Boyks, Hutsuls. Lemkos live on the slopes of the Beskids, between the Sanom (Syanom) and Poprad rivers, in the Velyky Bereznyansky and Perechinsky regions of Transcarpathia. The first mentions of them in written sources appear in the 6th century. BC NS.
Boyki live in Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Transcarpathian regions... The "Russian trinity" - Markian Shashkevich, Ivan Vagilevich and Yakov Golovatsky - considered the boykos to be the descendants of the Celtic tribes, who from the 6th century. BC. lived in Central Europe, and closer to the 1st century. AD moved to the Balkans.
Hutsuls live in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions - mainly in the Rakhiv region. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. among the Hutsuls there were many oprishki - rebels, people's avengers.

Carpathian mountain system in Europe on the map