High Tatras

High Tatras
The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains (Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; ; , Vysoki Tatry; ; ), are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. They are a range of the Tatra Mountains chain.
Description
The mountain range borders the Belianske Tatras to the east, the Podtatranská kotlina to the south, and the Western Tatras to the west. Most of the range, and all the highest peaks, are in Slovakia. The highest peak is Gerlachovský štít, at .
Biogeography
The High Tatras, having 29 peaks over AMSL are, with the Southern Carpathians, the only mountain ranges with an alpine character and habitats in the entire length of the Carpathian Mountains system.
The first European cross-border national park, Tatra National Park, was founded here with Tatra National Park (Tatranský národný park) in Slovakia in 1948, and Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy) in Poland in 1954. The contiguous parks protect UNESCO's trans-border Tatra biosphere reserve.
Fauna
Many rare and endemic animals and plant species are native to the High Tatras. They include the Tatras' endemic goat-antelope and critically endangered species, the Tatra chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica). Predators include Eurasian brown bear, Eurasian lynx, marten, wolf and fox. The Alpine marmot is common in the range.
Flora
Flora of the High Tatras includes: the endemic Tatra scurvy-grass (Cochlearia tatrae), yellow mountain saxifrage (Saxifraga aizoides), ground covering net-leaved willow (Salix reticulata), Norway spruce (Picea abies), Swiss pine (Pinus cembra), and European larch (Larix decidua).
Peaks
Highest peaks
The 15 highest peaks of the High Tatras—all located in Slovakia—are:
Other notable peaks
Kriváň, 2494 meters, also called Slovakia's "most beautiful mountain"
Rysy, the popular Polish−Slovak summit border crossing. Rysy has three peaks: the middle at 2,503 meters; the north-western at 2,499 meters; and the south-eastern at 2,473 meters. The north-western peak is the highest point of Poland.
Slavkovský štít, 2452 meters tall, within the Tatra National Park, Slovakia
Mountain lakes
Major lakes
Slovak lakes
Štrbské pleso - 1,347 m, 20 m deep.
Popradské pleso - 1,494 m, 17 m deep.
Veľké Hincovo pleso - 1,945 m, 54 m deep.
Polish lakes
Morskie Oko - 1,395 m, 51 m deep.
Czarny Staw pod Rysami - 1,583 m, 76 m deep.
Wielki Staw Polski - 1,664 m, 79 m deep.
Other lakes
Slovak lakes
Zmrzlé pleso
Ťažké pleso
Ľadové pleso
Batizovské pleso
Veľké Spišské pleso - 2,019 m, 10 m deep.
Veľké Žabie pleso (Mengusovské) - 1,921 m, 7 m deep
Vyšné Bielovodské Žabie pleso - 1,699 m, 25 m deep.
Nižné Bielovodské Žabie pleso - 1,675 m, 21 m deep.
Polish lakes
Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy - 1,624 m, 51 m deep.
Transport
By TEŽ
Line : from: Štrbské Pleso - to: Poprad-Tatry
Line : from: Starý Smokovec - to: Tatranská Lomnica
By OŽ
Line : from: Štrbské Pleso - to: Štrba
By ŽSR
Line : from: Tatranská Lomnica - to: Studený Potok or from: Poprad-Tatry - to: Plaveč
Culture
The area is well known for winter sports. Ski resorts include Štrbské pleso, Starý Smokovec and Tatranská Lomnica in Slovakia, and Zakopane in Poland. The town of Poprad is the gateway to the Slovak Tatra resorts.
People
The Górale people ("highlanders"), a group of indigenous people with a distinctive traditional culture, are of the High Tatras and other mountain ranges and valleys in the Tatra Mountains region.
Ludwig Greiner identified Gerlachovský štít (Gerlachovský Peak) as the highest summit of the Tatra Mountains, and the entire Carpathian Mountains system. It is also the highest point of Slovakia.
Places and services
Vysoké Tatry (town)
Orla Perć — notable tourist mountain path/trail
Siklawa Falls — highest waterfall in Poland
Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue (Poland)
Mountain Rescue Service (Slovakia)
See also
Tatra National Park, Poland
Tatra National Park, Slovakia
Tourism in Poland
Tourism in Slovakia
1989 Tatry - named after High Tatras
References
"The Tatras: High, Western, Bela's" (1:50,000 hiking map); BBKart/Marco Polo; 2005.
External links
UNESCO — Natural Reserves of Tatras Mountains
Tatry.org: Tatry Open Directory
Tatry.sk: Official town of High Tatry website
TldTatry.sk: Tatra Cable Railways
Summitpost.org: High Tatra Mountains
High Tatra Mountains visualized in 3D
3D scan of Lomnický peak, one of the highest mountain peaks in the High Tatras mountains.
Images
VysokeTatry.com— various maps of the High Tatras
Butkaj.com: photos of villages in the High Tatras — after the 2004 storm calamity.
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