THE HIGH TATRAS / Vysoké Tatry / Magas-Tátra / Hohe Tatra are the highest and northernmost range of the Central Carpathians. They cover an area of 260 square km and the main ridge extends for 26 km along the Slovak-Polish border. In the west the High Tatras are separated from the Liptovské Tatry by the Tichá dolina and the L'aliové sedlo (1947 m); in the northeast they are separated from the Belianske Tatry by the Zadné Meďodoly and the Kopské sedlo (1749 m). The main ridge describes an approximately east-west arc that is convex to the south. Lateral ridges fork off radially from the main ridge to the north and south; the highest peaks rise from the lateral ridges that lie in the south. Dissected by protruding valleys, the steeply rising mass of the Tatras offers a splendid vista, particularly when seen from Popradská kotlina in the south. In the north, however, lower mountains form a transition towards the plain. Seven peaks rise above 2600 m, the highest being the Gerlachovský štít (2663 m; 2655 m above the level of the Baltic Sea, according to recent surveys). The Gerlachovský štít was called Franz Josef peak between 1896-1949 and Stalin peak between 1949-1962.

The mass of the High Tatras, folded in the Tertiary Period, is made of granite, or rather milonite that had been formed from it, crystalline schist, and gneiss. Although the deposits of sedimentary rock have undergone differential erosion, they are still found in Poland, in the Polish and Liptovské Tatry mountains. The Belianske Tatry are a limestone mountain. Quaternary ice ages are represented by U-shaped valleys and lakes hollowed or obstructed by morenas. The Tatras have many lakes of which the greatest is the Morskie Oko (34.5 hectars), the deepest the Wielki Staw (79.3 m), and the highest-lying the Modré pliesko (2157 m). Snow and firn do not form glaciers any more in the High Tatras.

The Tatran slopes are covered - from the bottom up - with mixed forest, pine wood, Swiss pines, dwarf junipers and finally, alpine grass. Vegetation is more variegated in calcium-rich soil than in acidic soil that is formed of granite. The flora includes more than 3000 species; some species of the mosses, ferns, and flowering plants can be found only here. Alpine fauna includes chamois and marmots.

The high ranges and valleys were traversed by hunters, shepherds, woodcutters, and charcoal-burners, who were followed by travellers, researchers, and tourists. The first written climber accounts stem from the 17th century. Sub-Tatran holiday resorts have proliferated since the early 19th century. The exploration of the Tatras and the influx of tourists began with the construction of the Košice-Oderberg railway line (1870-1871) and the establishment of the Hungarian Carpathian Association (1873) and the Polskie Towarzystwo Tatrzańskie (1874). At the time of Ender's visit, the High Tatras belonged to two counties of historical Hungary, Szepes and Liptó and to Galicia. Today the area is controlled by Slovakia and Poland and embraces two national parks, the Slovak Tatranský Národný park (TANAP) and the Polish Tatrzańsky Park Narodowy (TPN). They are in charge of the protection and preservation of the natural and human values of this landscape.

Bibliography: Adamec, Komarnicki, Šimko