Retezat Mountains

Retezat mountains
The Retezat Mountains seen from atop one of them (Vârfu Mare, "The Big Peak")
Highest point
Peak	Peleaga
Elevation	2,509 m (8,232 ft)
Coordinates	45°21′57″N 22°53′33″E / 45.36583°N 22.89250°E / 45.36583; 22.89250
Geography
Country	Romania
State/Province	Southern Carpathians
Range coordinates	45°22′N 22°52′E / 45.367°N 22.867°E / 45.367; 22.867Coordinates: 45°22′N 22°52′E / 45.367°N 22.867°E / 45.367; 22.867
Borders on	Alps
Geology
Orogeny	Alpine orogeny

The Retezat Mountains (Romanian: Munţii Retezat) are one of the highest massifs in Romania, being part of the Southern Carpathians. The highest peak is Peleaga (Vârful Peleaga), at an altitude of 2509 metres. Other important peaks are Păpuşa (Vârful Păpuşa, "the Doll Peak") and Retezat Peak (Vârful Retezat). The name means "cut off" in Romanian.

The 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.

The 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.