Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains

TRANSYLVANIA
Transylvania, meaning 'the land beyond the forest' in Latin, is approximately 34.177 square miles and has a human population of approximately 5 million. It has mostly been made well-known through stories of the popular vampire, Count Dracula. There are many places in Transylvania that are thought to be haunted. The Transylvanian Alps are sometimes referred to as the South Carpathians.

Location
Transylvania is located in Eastern Europe, covering much of Romania and the Southern Carpathian mountains.

THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS
Transylvanian Secrets takes place in a large valley in the Carpathian Mountains, one of the few remaining pristine ecosystems on the planet and containing the one of the largest populations of Gray Wolves in Europe. The mountain range is located in Eastern Europe and snakes for 1500 kilometers (900 meters) through the countries of Romaina, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro. Romania (where the RP takes place) contains the largest proportion of these mountains, and some of the peaks exceed hieghts of 2,500 meters or 8,202 feet.

Carpathian Mountain Landscape
The Carpathian Mountains consists of some of the most beautiful, undisturbed landscapes in the world. In the South Carpathians in Romania, common landscapes feature lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, rivers, streams, conifer forests, snowcapped mountains, stunning rock formations, caves, canyons and valleys with grassland and meadows. There are also medievil settlements that have sustained their customs and traditions.

Animals in the Southern Carpathian Mountains include one of the largest populations of wild Gray Wolves in Eastern Europe, along with a rich variety of other rare wildlife including bears and lynx, as well as roe deer, red deer, rabbits, squirrels, chamois (a type of goat-antelope), beavers, rabbit, squirrel and some other small mammals, bats, birds and insects.

Climate and Weather Conditions
In the Carpathian Mountians there are four distinct seasons, with the winter climate being mild with the lowest winter temperatures in lower altitudes being around -10 degrees C to -15 degrees C and with summers being warm with a minimum temperature of 23 degrees C. In spring and summer, there are frequent rainfalls and thunderstorms. Around 800 - 1600 millimeters or 31 - 58 inches of rain/snow falls evenly throughout each year. In the winter months, snowfalls can be heavy and the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains can remain capped with snow until May. In the winter months there can be average of 2 hours of sunshine per day, and occasional severe cold weather can occur and last for days. In lower altitudes, snow will fall between November and Febuary, usually being 1 meter deep, though it can sometimes be 2-3 meters deep. Daylight can last for nine hours from the summer months, June - August.