an uninterrupted chain of mountains. Rather, they consist of several orographically and geologically distinctive groups, presenting as great a structural variety as the Alps. The Carpathians, which attain an altitude over in only a few places, lack the bold peaks, extensive snowfields, large glaciers, high waterfalls, and numerous large lakes that are common in the Alps. It was believed that no area of the Carpathian range was covered in snow all year round and there were no glaciers, but recent research by Polish scientists discovered one permafrost and glacial area in the Tatra Mountains. The Carpathians at their highest altitude are only as high as the middle region of the Alps, with which they share a common appearance, climate, and flora. The Carpathians are separated from the Alps by the Danube. The two ranges meet at only one point: the Leitha Mountains at Bratislava. The river also separates them from the Balkan Mountains at Orșova in Romania. The valley of the March and Oder separates the Carpathians from the Silesian and Moravian chains, which belong to the middle wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe. Unlike the other wings of the system, the Carpathians, which form the watershed between the northern seas and the Black Sea, are surrounded on all sides by plains, namely the Pannonian plain to the southwest, the Lower Danubian Plain to the south, with the southern part being in Bulgaria, and the northern - in (Romania), and the Galician plain to the northeast. Cities and towns Important cities and towns in or near the Carpathians are, in approximate descending order of population: Kraków (Poland) Bratislava (Slovakia) Cluj-Napoca (Romania) Chernivtsi (Ukraine) Brașov (Romania) Košice (Slovakia) Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine) Oradea (Romania) Bielsko-Biała (Poland) Miskolc (Hungary) Sibiu (Romania) Târgu Mureș (Romania) Baia Mare (Romania) Uzhhorod (Ukraine) Tarnów (Poland) Râmnicu Vâlcea (Romania) Prešov (Slovakia) Mukachevo (Ukraine) Drohobych (Ukraine) Piatra Neamț (Romania) Nowy Sącz (Poland) Suceava (Romania) Vršac (Serbia) Târgu Jiu (Romania) Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Romania) Reșița (Romania) Žilina (Slovakia) Bistrița (Romania) Banská Bystrica (Slovakia) Zvolen (Slovakia) Deva (Romania) Zlín (Czech Republic) Hunedoara (Romania) Martin (Slovakia) Zalău (Romania) Przemyśl (Poland) Krosno (Poland) Sanok (Poland) Alba Iulia (Romania) Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) Turda (Romania) Mediaș (Romania) Poprad (Slovakia) Spišská Nová Ves (Slovakia) Petroșani (Romania) Miercurea Ciuc (Romania) Făgăraș (Romania) Odorheiu Secuiesc (Romania) Boryslav (Ukraine) Jasło (Poland) Cieszyn (Poland) Nowy Targ (Poland) Żywiec (Poland) Zakopane (Poland) Petrila (Romania) Cugir (Romania) Târgu Neamț (Romania) Câmpulung