Part One<br > Chapter 1<br > Outline<br >GEOGRAPHY<br >The Carpathian system is part of the Alpine-Himalayan chain， formed<br >relatively recently in the Tertiary alpine orogeny， hut there is as yet no<br >explanation for the formation of the Carpathian-Balkan S-bend. The<br >Carpathian system is as long as the Alps (1，30Okra， but with its ends on<br >the Danube at Bratislava and the Iron Gates only 5OOkm apart} but only<br >half their height， making them easier to cross. For the most part the<br >Carpathian chain is 35-40km wide， and generally consists of three<br >distinct bands， with Flysch (or turbidite) on the outside， young crystalline<br >massifs in the centre and some volcanic ranges intruding on the inner<br >side. The far older and lower remnants of the Hercynian mountains，<br >granite， limestone and schists dating from the Primary era， lie parallel to<br >the north， running from the Vosges via the Ardennes， the Black Forest，<br >the Erzgebirge， and the Karkonosze in southern Poland to northern<br >Dobrogea on Romania s Black Sea coast. Qua rter nar y glaciation occurred<br >only in the Karkonosze， Tatras， Rodnas and the southern Carpathians.<br > Starting from the western end the chain is divided into four sections，<br >of which the first and second are partly in Poland and the second and<br >third in Ukraine:<br >1. The western Carpathians， from Bratislava to the line of the Biala river，<br >the Tylicz pass， and the Topl a and Hornad rivers near Kosice - the<br >widest， highest and most complex section， above all the High Tatras on<br >the Polish-Slovak border， glaciated granite often covered with limestone.<br >2. The Central or Forest Carpathians， from the Tylicz pass to the upper<br >Tisa (Tisza} River; lower sedimentary hills providing major routes from<br >Poland to eastern Slovakia and from Ukraine to Hungary.<br >3. The eastern Carpathians， from the sources of the Tisa almost to<br >Bra~ov in Romania， consisting of parallel ridges of sedimentary rocks<br >(sandstone and conglomerates) to the east， a central crystalline schist<br >zone.with some resistant limestones， and to the west an inner zone of<br >volcanic material.<br >