OLT RIVER

river, rising close to the headwaters of the Mures River, in the Ciuc Depression, east central Romania, at an elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m); it flows generally southwest and then south for 420 miles (670 km), entering the Danube at Turnu-Magurele. The river exits from the Ciuc Depression through the mountains at Tusnad, carving out a valley where several resorts and spas are located (including Tusnad and Malnas); it then flows through the Brsei and Fagaras valleys before cutting a gorge through the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), after which it flows south through the Danube Plain. Its watercourse across the Transylvanian Alps at Turnu Rosu Pass is the most important breach of those mountains in Romania. There is some logging along its upper and middle courses, and its lower course below Slatina is navigable for small boats. Its principal tributaries include the Rul Negru, the Lotru, the Oltet, the Cibin, and the Teslui.