The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra (Tatry in both Slovak and Polish), constitute a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They occupy an area of 750 km², the major part (600km²) of which lies in Slovakia. The highest mountain is Gerlachovský štít at 2,655 m, located in Slovakia. The north-western peak of Rysy (2,499 m) is the highest Polish mountain.

The Tatras consist of:

• Western Tatras (Slovak: Západné Tatry, Polish: Tatry Zachodnie)
• Eastern Tatras (Východné Tatry, Tatry Wschodnie), which consist of:
  • High Tatras (Vysoké Tatry, Tatry Wysokie)
  • Belianske Tatras (Belianske Tatry, Tatry Bielskie)

The Tatra Mountains are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. Although considerably smaller than the Alps, they are classified as having an alpine landscape. Their high mountain character, combined with great accessibility, makes them popular with tourist and scientists.

Description

The area is a well-known winter sports area, with resorts such as Poprad and the town (Mesto) Vysoké Tatry in Slovakia (in English literally (Town of the High Tatras); created in 1999 and including the former separate resorts Štrbské Pleso, Starý Smokovec, and Tatranská Lomnica), and Zakopane, the "Winter Capital" of Poland.

The High Tatras, with their 24 (or 25) peaks over 2500 m above sea level, are, together with the Southern Carpathians, the only mountain ranges with an Alpine character in the whole 1200km length of the Carpathian Mountain range.

The Mountains have a diverse variety of plants. They are home to more than 1,000 vascular plants, about 450 mosses, 200 hepatics, 700 lichens, 900 fungi, and 70 slime moulds. There are five climatic-vegetation belts in Tatras:

The distribution of plants depends on altitude:

• up to 1,300 m: Carpathian beech forest; almost no shrub layer, herb layer occupies most of the forest floor
• to 1,550 m: Spruce forest; shrub layer poorly developed, mosses are a major component
• to 1,800 m: Mountain Pine, numerous herbs
• to 2,300 m: high altitude grasslands
• from 2,300 m up: Subnivean - bare rock and almost no vegetation (mostly lichens)

Fauna

The Tatra Mountains are home to many species of animals: 54 tardigrades, 22 turbellarians, 100 rotifers, 22 copepods, 162 spiders, 81 molluscs, 43 mammals, 200 birds, 7 amphibians and 2 reptiles.

The most notable mammals are the Tatra chamois, marmot, snow vole, brown bear, wolf, Eurasian lynx, red deer, roe deer, and wild boar. Notable fish include the brook trout and alpine bullhead.

The endemic species include the caddis fly, spider Xysticus alpicola and wingless springtail.

Human involvement

thumb|right|250px|Visible consequences of the 2004 storm

The Tatra Mountains were used in the 18th and 19th centuries for sheep grazing and mining and many trees were cut down to make way for human exploitation. Although these activities were stopped, the impact is still clearly visible. Moreover, there are new problems. Pollution from the industrialized regions of Kraków, Ostrava and Orava and uncontrolled tourism are damaging the mountains.

The Slovak Tatra National Park (Tatranský národný park; TANAP) was founded in 1949, and the contiguous Polish Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy) was founded in 1954. Both areas were added to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve list in 1993. On 19 November 2004, large parts of the forests in the southern part of the High Tatras were damaged by a strong wind storm. Three million cubic metres of trees were uprooted, two people died and several villages were totally cut off. Further damage was done by a subsequent forest fire, and it will take many years until the local ecology is fully recovered.

Mountain peaks

thumb|250px|Batizovský štít above the Batizovské pleso lake

Eastern Tatras:

• Gerlachovský štít - 2654 m (Slovakia)
• Lomnický štít - 2634 m (Slovakia)
• Ľadový štít - 2627 m (Slovakia)
• Pyšný štít - 2623 m (Slovakia)
• Kežmarský štít - 2556 m (Slovakia)
• Rysy (middle peak) - 2499 m (Slovakia/Poland)
• Kriváň - 2495 m (Slovakia)
• Slavkovský štít - 2452 m (Slovakia)
• Batizovský štít - 2448 m (Slovakia)
• Svinica (Slovak); Świnica (Polish) - 2301 m (Slovakia/Poland)
• Široká - 2210 m (Slovakia)
• Havran - 2151 m (Slovakia)
• Veľká kopa - 2052 m (Slovakia)
• Brestová - 1934 m (Slovakia)
• Sivý vrch - 1809 m (Slovakia)
• Osobita - 1687 m (Slovakia)

thumb|250px|Peaks of Western Tatras

Western Tatras:

• Bystrá - 2248 m (Slovakia)
• Baranec - 2184 m (Slovakia)
• Banikov/Banówka - 2178 m (Slovakia)
• Klin (Slovak)/Starobociański Wierch (Polish) - 2176 m (Slovakia/Poland)
• Volovec - 2064 m (Slovakia/Poland)
• Kasprov vrch/Kasprowy Wierch - 1,987 m (Slovakia/Poland)
• Giewont - 1894 m (Poland)

Notable people

Ludwig Greiner identified Gerlachovský Peak as the summit of the Tatras, Carpathians.

Bibliography

Ján Lacika, Tatras (2nd edition), Bratislava 2006. ISBN 80-88975-95-6

External links

• Town of Vysoké Tatry - municipal website
• Zakopane - municipal website
• TANAP - Slovak Tatra National Park
• TPN - Polish Tatra National Park

Commercial tourism-oriented websites

• Tatry.cz -travel guide (mainly Slovak side)
• Go-Zakopane.com - travel guide (mainly Polish side)

Mountaineering

• Tatry on ogdos.com - mountaineer's notes
• Tatra Avalanche Forecast - website of the Volunteer Tatra-Mountain Rescue Service

Photography

• Atypical images of the Tatras
• Spherical panoramas
• Panoramic view from Rysy (2499m)

films

• Ski-movie filmed in 1930