Retezat Mountains 4.15

The Retezat Mountains are one of the highest massifs in Romania, being part of the Southern Carpathians. The highest peak is Peleaga, at an altitude of 2509 metres. Other important peaks are Păpuşa and Retezat Peak . The name means "cut off" in Romanian.GeographyThe Retezat Mountains have many glacial lakes, including the largest glacial lake in Romania, Bucura Lake (Lacul Bucura), which covers 8.9 ha and is situated at an altitude of 2030 metres. The area also contains the Retezat National Park, Romania's first national park.River systems and LakesThe tectonic, lithologic and morphologic conditions present in the Retezat mountains, corelated with the orientation of the ridges towards the main air masses make this mountain group the most humid area in the Romanian Carpathians. The hydrologic network is divided into two main directions: north, towards the river Strei (the Mureş drainage basin) where all the rivers from the west, north and north-east areas of the massif are flowing and south, towards the Jiul de Vest River (the Jiu drainage basin). The most important river course is Lăpuşnicul Mare with an annual average flow of 12.9 m3/s. Waterfalls are present on all water courses in the park.