Retezat National Park

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Retezat Mountains, near camping site Bucura

Retezat National Park is a natural reserve area located in the Retezat Mountains in Hunedoara county, Romania.

Containing more than 60 peaks over 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) and over 100 crystal clear deep glacier lakes, the Retezat Mountains are some of the most beautiful in the Carpathians. In 1935 the Government of Romania set aside an area of the Retezat Mountains creating the country's first national park.

Currently the park has 381 km² (147 sq mi). The area shelters one of Europe's last remaining intact old-growth forest and the continent's largest single area of pristine mixed forest. The highest peak of the Retezat Mountains, Peleaga, 2,509 metres (8,232 ft) is located in the park. The park also includes about 80 glacier lakes.

The flora consists of approximately 1190 plant species, of which 130 have the "endangered" or "vulnerable" status. Wolves, brown bear, wild boar, Eurasian Lynx, European Wildcat, chamois, Roe Deer and red deer, as well as small carnivore species such as Eurasian Badger and Eurasian otter populate the park.

The Gemenele scientific reserve is a strictly protected area of the park enclosing an intact primeval forest.

In 1979 the Man and Biosphere Program of UNESCO included the park in the international network of biosphere reserve.

External links

• Official site
• Maps of the Park
• Jiu Valley Portal - the home of the Official Jiu Valley City Websites and a gateway to the Retezat National Park and other destinations in the Transylvanian Alps
• Maps of the Retezat and other mountain ranges in the Transylvanian Alps
• Touristic Maps of the Retezat Mountains

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Retezat

v t e Seven Natural Wonders of Romania Danube Delta · Retezat National Park · Scărişoara Cave · Cheile Nerei-Beuşniţa National Park · Ceahlău Massif · Piatra Craiului Mountains · Sphinx and Babele

Coordinates: 45°22′N 22°52′E / 45.367°N 22.867°E / 45.367; 22.867

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