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. 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 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: 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. 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.