AUSTRIA-LANDSCAPE, ECONOMY, AND POPULATION LOCATION, BOUNDARIES, SIZE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-01043R001400130003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 348
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: December 12, 2012
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: August 12, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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AUSTRIA IANISCAPE, ECONOMIti-, AND POPULATION
Oesterreich Landschaft,
Wirtschaft, Bevoelkerung
[Austria -- Landscape, Economy,
and Population).,. 1953, Vienna,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Location, Boundaries, Size
STAT
Josef Stolitzka
Doctors Leo Helmer
and Anna Janda
Section 1 The-Landscape 2 '
The major landscapes 2
A. The East Alps
1. Structure, origin, variety of types
2. The North Alps 10
(a) The flysch zone 10
(b) The Limestone Alps 10
3. The Central Alps ' 14
4. The South Alps 24
5. The Vienna Basin 26
B. The foreland in the east
p. The Alpine Foreland
D. The Carpathian Foreland
JE: The Bohemian Massif part and the German Uplands part
The Danube landscape types
The climate
Plants and animals in the landscape?
Settlements in the landscape
(a) Types of farm houses
(b) Types of settlements
(c) Types of fields
Mir
a
29
31
33
35
38
43
51
58
58
62
65
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J.
Section II:'-.Thejederal Stated 68
Vorarlberg 68
1,7 Location (map'exeroise)
State sections
_1.- - The'Rhine Valley
2. Lake Constance and'Bregenz; the tate capital
3. Bregeiiz Forest
4. The Ill River Valley
? The Arlberg Pass area
7,-
III. Economy
IV.dovernment.and population
Tirol
I. Location (map exercise)
II. State sections
68 .
68
68
70
71
73
75
77
78
so
SO
80
The Inn River Valley and Innsbruck; the state capital 80
2; The Lech River Valley and the "Ausserfern" area
3; The Stubai Valley and the Brenner Pass area
4. The Ziller Valley
? The Kitzbuehler River area
6'i, East Tirol.
Economy
Government and population
Salzburg
Location (map exercise)
State sections
1. The Pinzgau Valley
The Pongau Valley
3; The Lungau Valley
4, The TentengaU Valiey
89
91
93
94
, 98.,
102
103
103
103
103
107
109 '
110
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ro
. The Flachgau
6.. Salzburg, the state 'capital
III. 'Economy
IV. Government and population
112
113
116
117
Carinthia
118
-I. Location (map exercise)
114.
II. State sections
118
1. Upper Carinthia
119
(a) The Drau Valley
? ?,
119
(b) The Moell Valley
120
(c) The Lieser Valley
12.1
(d) The Gail Valley
121'
2. Lower Carinthia
123
(a) The Klagenfurt Basin
123
(b) The Lavant-Valley
130
III., Economy
131
IV. Government and population
136
Styria
138
I.. Location (map exercise)
138
II. State sections
138
Upper Styria
138
(a) The Styrian Salzkammergut area
138
(b) The Upper Enns River Valley
139
(c) The Gesaeuse Gorge
141
(d)' Th? Eisfterz Alps and Mt. Erzberg
141
(e) The Mt. Hochschwab area and the Mariazell Basin
143
(f) The Kammer Valley
144
.10 The Upper MUr River Valley
144
The Wens River Valley
148
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2.. Central Styria
(a) The central Mur River area
(b) Graz, the 'state capital
(c) The Graz Plain and the.Leibuitz Plain
149
149
151
154
3. Western Styria
154
4, Eastern Styria
155
III. Economy
157
IV. Government and Ovulation
161
Upper Austria
162
I. 'Location (map exercise)
162-
114 State sections
163'
1. Alpine area
163
(a) Salzkammergut area
163
(b) The Alps between the Traun and Enns rivers
167
2. The Alpine Foreland
170
(a) The Attergau area
170
)
4.
(b) The Lower Traun River area
170
(c) The Trawl and Enna Plateau
' 172
(d) The Hausruilkviertel area
173
(e). The Innviertel area
173
5., The Danube Valley in Upper Austria and Linz, the
,state capital
175
4, Upper Austria's part of the Bohimian Massif
(MUehlviertel area)
179
III.. Economy
182
/V. Government and population ?
186
Lower Austria
188
I., Location (map eiercise)
188
State sections
188
?-.
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I.
rr ?
' I
1. The Bohemian Massif part (Wa1dviertel area) 188
2: The hill country below Mt. Mahhartsberg (Wein-
vies-Col area)
3. The Alpine Foreland
4. Lower Austria's Alpine part 198
(a). The Lower Austrian Limestone Alps and the flysch zone 198
.(b) The Central Alps part 203
:203'
193
196
(1) The Mt, Semmering area
0) The Mt. Wedhsel area and the Bucklige Welt section
6.- The Vienna Basin
' (a) The Vienna Bay
(1) Fringe areas
(2) The interior of the Vienna Bay
(b) The March Plain
(c) The area between the cliff zone and the Little
Carpathians
6. The Danube sections in Lower Austria
III. Economy
IV. Government and population
Burgenland
Location (map exercise)
II. State sections
1. 'Northern BUrgemland
2, Central Burgenland
3. Southern Burgenland .
III. Economy
IV. Government and population
?
-
204
205
206206
210
212
212
2/2
219
223
224
- 224
? 224
226
.
232.
233
, 235
238
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' The Federl.StatetOf Vienna,
I. Vienna's location.ini,Europe
. II. City location, 'metropolitan and settlement aspects
III. The development of the settled area
IV. The riaiUbe at Vienna
V. Climate and flora
VI. Economy
VII. Government and population
' VIII. Vienna's cultural significance
242
242
243
245
248
249
250 .
252
252
Section III. Economy 254
1. Awrloulture
2. Forestry
3. Mining
4. Electric power
5. The trades
6. Industry.
Nationalized Enterprises in Austria
7. Austrian foreign trade
(a) General
(b) Overall trade
(c) Imports
_ (d) Exports
(e) Trade balance
(f) Payments balance.
8. Transportation
(a) Railroads
(b) Highways
(c) Mountain railroads
254
265
268
280
284
284
298
298
298
301
302
302
305
306
206
306
304
310
-
4..
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STAT
.t.
AUSTRIA -- LANDSCAPE,- ECONOMY AND POPULATION
LOCATION BOUNDARIES SIZE
Austria is located in Central Europe between 46?22' N latitude
and 49?1' N latitude and between 9?32' E longitude and 17?10' E longitude.
The southernmost-settlement is Bad [Spa] Vellach (south of
Eisenkappel, Carinthia); the northernmost settlement is Rottal (north
of Litschau, Lower Austria); the westernmost is Bangs (west of Feldkirch,-
itorariberg); the easternmost is Deutsch ?Tahrndorf, northern Burgenland.
Auptria's greatest width (270 km) runs along 15? E longitude, its smallest
-(60 km) along 12? E longitude; its greatest length (580 km) runs along
47? N latitude, its shortest (230 km) along 48?30' N latitude; along 48?
N latitude it amounts to about 300 km. BOOM= of its location Austria
is on Central European Time.
Austria is Europe's third-largest inland country (Czechoslovak
Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland) and borders on two major countries
(German Federal Republic, Italy), four mediumrsized countries (Czechoslovak
-Republic, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Switzerland), and one small country (Liech-
tenstein). Its borders are 2,637 km long.
Of this figure Austria's common border with the German. Federal
,Republic amounts to 784 km, with the Czechoslovak Republic to 548 km,
with Hungary to 366 km, with Yugoslavia to 311 km, with Italy to 430 km,
with Switzerland to 162 km, and with Liechtenstein to 36 km. Of the.
state capitals only Vienna and Graz are more than 40 km from the nearest
international boundary.
Austria's area amounts to approximately 84,000 sq km (83,850).
Austria is closest in size to Hungary; Switzerland is not even half
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? as large as
three times
three times
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Austria, while the' German Federal Republic is not quite
, the Czechoslovak Republic one and a half times, TUgoslav4i,
, and Italy three and a half times as large as Austria.
SECTION I. THE LANDSCAPE
The Major Landscapes
We find the following major landscapes represented in Austria:
the mountains of the East Alps; thu flatlands and hill country of the
foreland along the eastern frOges of the Alps, the Alpine Foreland and the
_Carpathian Foreland, as well as serrated residual plateaus of the 114ehl-
viertel and Waldviertel areas belonging to the Bohemian Massif and
consequently to the German Uplands.
A. The East Alps
1. Structure, Origin, Variety of Types
Roughly two-thirds of Austria's area is covered by the East Alps.
The series of valleys which runs from W to E divides the mountains into
three long zones: the North Alps, the Central Alps, and the South Alps.
Let us assume the line,glostertal -- Arlberg Pass -- Ion River
Valley -- Lake Zell -- Watreiner Heights.-- Runs River Valley -- Schober
Pass -- Mar Valley and Muerz Valley -- Mt. Semmering -- Vienna Bay to be
the dividing line between the North and Central Alps, though there_pay___
be variations in rock formations here and there. Austria's South Alpe
are sharply divided from the Central Alps by the broad trough of the
Puster Valley and the Drau-River Valley.
The manifold landscapes are brought about by the variations
In the rock formations Of these zones. Each zone gets its name from
the type of rock which constitutes its main part, though it may not
necessarily be the exclusively predominant type. We therefore speak of a
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-Crystalline zone, of graywacke zones, of limestone zones, and of a sand-
stone zone (see pertinent map in atlas).
In the crystalline zone the granite types (granite, tonalite,
aiorite)cover the smallest part; gneiss types are more frequent, as are
the crystalline slate types (granite gneiss, slate gneiss, mica schist,
tonalite, or phyllite). They originated mainly in the Paleozoic. Crystal-
line rock and slate often form knolls and broad ridges; cliffs and aretes
are found only above the snow line and in the cirques; the weathering soil'
is particularly strongly represented in the slate area (wood and pasture
soil, rock stream formation); these are also ore-rich.
The limestone types of the Alps partly originated in the Paleozoic
(Silurian and Devonian); most of them however date back to the Mesozoic --
the Triassic, to be specific; some can be traced back to the Jurassic;
the most recent types date back to the Cretaceous and the Tertiary which
belongs to the Cainozoic (Table 12).
Below the Triassic limestones we find mostly slate rocks which
originated in the deposits located far from the coasts of the Triassic sea.
They are called Werfen slate for the village of Werfen in the Salzach River
Valley. Due to their impermeability they are a valuable spring horizon
-
(sources of the Vienna High Mountain Spring Water System); they- are of
economic significance due to their salt and gypsum deposits and their soil
which is good for farming. Of the limestones of the Triassic, the
Gdtenstein limestone (Gutenstein, Lower Austria), the Wetterstein limestone
in North Tirol, and the Hallstatt limestone are the most frequent. The
moat massive bodies and the highest ranges of the Limestone Alps consist
mostly of the light Dachstein limestone (reef limestones of the sea) and
the Main Dolomite, a transformation product of limestone.
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The limestone of the Jurassic is less frequent and appears mostly
in the form of islaids in Triassic rock. Adnet limestone (Adnet, E of
Hallein) is an important building stone.
The Triassic limestones form walls and sharp, heavily serrated
are tea
4.
The sandstones originated during all geologic ages either as
sedimentary rocks or as continental deposits. Sandstones appear in
conjunction with other, often foliated rocks from the Paleozoic in a specs/
form along the northern and southern edges of the crystallite area. The
two rock zones along the interior sides of the Limestone Alps receivedtheir
name when these old sandstones were called graywacke, a mining term.
The counterpart of tho northern graywacke zone is formed mainly 1,6 the
range of the Carnic Alps.
The alps also contain sandstones and marl which here and there appear
embedded in Triassic limestone. Since they are found near Goaau on the
N side of Mt. Dachstein, they are called Gosau layers and they are therefore
considered to be neritic deposits; they originated in the Cretaceous
period.
The sandstones of the sandstone' zone proper, which in Austria lies
in front of the limestone zone, partly originated in-the Cretaceous period,
partly in the oldest Tertiary (Eocene). These sandstones and marls are
commonly called flysch; this name comes from Switzerland and is related
to the word "to flow"; it indicates that slippages are easily possible
in the flysch zone.
Sandstones are very susceptible to erosion, In combination with
other rocks they Often form depth lines. Where they form mountains by
themselves, they reveal knolls and rounded ridges with slopes
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The development of the Alps can be traaed back not only to the
folding of the sedimentary layers but also to major overfaults of entire
layer accumulations, so-called "overfault covers," which are mostly
separated from their area of origin, the "roots" of the covers (Figure 1).
At-times we can find layers next to and on top of each other though they
may come from different areas of origin.
During these movements there often took place a certain trans-
formation (metamorphosis) of the rocks. The resistance against the
effect of the air cover (weather, water, ice) depended mostly on the
-;
degree of hardness of the rock. The actual development of the mountain
forms took place under the constant influence of the air cover. The sur-
face created in this manner during a certain period of time was again
broken up, folded, and moved in another "mountain formation phase" as a re-
sult of the earth crust movements, upthrusts, and downthrusts. Now the
remnants of the old surface can be found only in the gips of the overfault
layers in the form of "windows" or they ended up in a higher or lower
position as a result of upthrusts or downthrusts of the blocks. Small
leftovers of an other wise eroded cover may remain standing in the form
of ciimneys.
It is difficult to reconstruct uniform covers. Nevertheless
certain parts of the Austrial Alps, such as the main body of the central
zone, the slate zone, the limestone zone, etc were considered to be such
covers and were called "East Alpine covers." They are overfaulted from
the S on the West Alps which are considered to be parts of a so-called
"Helvetian cover" and a "Pennine cover." This "thrust cover theory"
has so far not been replaced by a generally satisfactory explanation.
The major loviceitudinal valleys of the Alps seem to have developed
from original depth lines, synclines of folding or downthrusts, fault lines,
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and troughs. They can thus be Said to have a tectonic origin. Many
valleys follow the cover edges, e. g., the Rhine Valley, the Wipp Valley,
the line Eatschberg Lieser Valley, etc.
It must be remembered that the current picture of the mountains
did not develop all at once but in several erogenic phases and in slow,
successive movements which still have not come to a stop.
It is assumed that the shape of the
can be traced back partly to a major crust
ifirusts) during the Tertiary and partly to the effect of the ice age.
At the end of the Old Tertiary the Central Alps and the graywacke
zone were an uplands landscape with flat knolls and wide valleys and sub-
tropical vegetation. The rivers carried huge masses of gravel northward
and thus covered a large part of the North Alps during the Lower Miocene.
In combination with a backward downthrust, the North Alps had been degraded
to hill country at the time of the transition from the Miocene to the
Pliocene. The major longitudinal valleys, such as that of the Runs River,
were at that time not to be found in this hill country. The once continuous
-Young Tertiary hill landscape is best preserved in the plateau mountains
of the eastern Limestone Alps and especially on Mt. Raz. For this reasim
this hill landscape is also called "RAX landscape." Reasserted remnants
-of the old gravel cover are today found in the form of small quartz pebbles
(chalcedony) on the surfaces of the "Raz landscape"; they are however also
younger surfaces, as well as in
_
current forms of the Alps
movement (upthrusts and down-
-found on lower situated and therefore
crevices, chasms, and dolinas. Attempts were also made to find old land
surfaces in the Central Alps.
The main phase of the collapse of the link between the Alps and
Carpathians occurred at the beginning of the Middle Miocene at which time
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an uplift and breakup of the eastern fringe took place. The body of
the East Alps and parts in the interior were at times washed by, the sea.
The ensuing young uplifts and doming of the East Alps and their breakup
into heaved and downthrown blocks resulting from uneven vertical crust
movements (breaks) are most probably connected with the development of
peripheral depressions along the northern and especially the eastern and
southern fringes of the Alps. As a result of this we find the general
present-day arrangement of the mountains and downthrust areas which
developed during the topmost Miocene And the Pliocene. The movements
however lasted well into the Quaternary. Erosion has been cutting away
at this landscape for the past 12 to 13 million years so that the present
relief must have been considerably higher at one time. Earthquake areas
and lines represent the last reminders of the great earth crust movements
whose continuation could be established in various places in the Alps
(cf. E. Spengler and A. Winkler-Rermaden).
The wide variety of ice age forms includes roundishly knoblike
heights, cirques, trough valleys with valley steps, waterfalls, and gorges,
as well as lakes and moraine landscapes.
The manner and frequency of the effects of the ice age are to be -
based on the fact that the ice age was not a climatically uniform and
even period but that it was interrupted by warmer interim ice periods, the
interglacial periods. For this reason we distinguish several ice age
phases during which the elevation of the snow line and the length of
glaciers varied.
Glacial research, the study of the ice age and its effects, has
led to the assumption of four or three ice ages in the Alps. The duration
of the ice age has been estimated at 600,000 years and more.
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At the time of maximum glaciation the snow line was situated
at an elevation of between 1,100. and 1,800 m.
Certain definite phases were also established in the recession
of-the glaciers during the postglacial period, i.e., the period which
followed the ice age. These phases constitute the transition of the
present state of glaciation.
After the recession of -glaciation certain results of the work ofthe
glaciers remained behind; these are very decisive to the landscape
;iieftro,of the Alps.
The cirques, the source areas of glaciers, are niches in the slopes;
they have a relatively level floor and are enclosed by steep back and
side walls. The forms of the cirques, which are almost omnipresent in
the high mountains, are extremely varied. The position of the cirques
along the slopes of a mountain range very often affects the shape of
the peaks. As a result of the cirques which push in from several sides,
the peaks often assume knife-edge or pyramidal shapes. For this reason
the peaks of high mountains are suhdivided into matterhorns and rounded
bosses. The floors of the cirques were Scooped out by the glaciers and
the ralee falling from the side walls was carried aray. In this manner
more or less deep basins Were formed between the polished knobs; in these
basins we often find high mountain lakes, the so-called cirque
They are blocked by rock barriers and moraines. In the limestone area
-the cirque basins were often transformed into dolinas.
The traces of ice age glaciers are also revealed in the forms of
the valleys. Bowever these forms even in the high mountains were not
uniformly breated by ice age glaciers. They were frequently transformed
into trough valleys. A trough valley usually has convexly domed upper edges,
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the so-Called trough shoulders; it has a cirquelike valley end, the
_trough cirque, as well as valley steps with rock barriers which close
off the higher situated valley floor against the down-valley sections; not
infrequently it has waterfalls or gorges.
The might of the ice age glaciers -- the ice stream of the Inn
_Valley glacier for instance was 1,700 m high -- caused the ice masses
to spill outward over lower situated saddles of the fringe zone which
they scooped out further. In this manner many an Alpine pass was formed.
The Moraine rubble of the ice age glacier remained as fringe
step of the valleys in which role it often literally formed an uplands
area. The moraines form hill landscapes also in the former tongue area
of the glacier which after all was located at different elevations
during the various ice age phases. The tongue of the Drau glacier was
36 km wide near Klagenfurt; the Salzach glacier, which originally extended
into the Alpine foothills, later terminated near Bischofshofen. Many of
today's Alpine lakes (dammed-up lakes) were formed in the area of scooping
and moraine deposit.
?
The variohs recession phases of the glaciers can still be recognized
by the location of the moraines (recessional moraines). In the inter-
glacial periods the partial melting of the glaciers caused strong erosion
of the valleys and a filling of the Alpine foothills with the mud and gravel
7
of the glacier streams.
In the succession of filling and erosion stages the Alpine rivers
left their former valley floors behind in the form of terraces of varying
age. In many places in the volleys of the mountains and particularly in
the Alpine Foreland these terraces give the landscape its characteristic
look.
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Pollen analysis indicated a postglacial warm period during
which the snow line was about 300 to 400 m higher than today. For
this reason the few glaciers of the northern Limestone Alps, in contrast
to several glaciers of the central Alps,-do not represent remnants of
the ice age; they were newly formed after the postglacial warm period.
Several glacier high marks can be traced back to historic times; the last
dates back to 1850. Since that time the glaciers, with a few interrup-
tions, have been melting rather strongly. The Alpine glaciers have been
studied scientifically for several decades.
Today the snow line lies generally at 2,500 to 2,900 m.
2. The North Alps
The North Alps in general include the flysch zone and the Limestone Alps.
a. The Flysch Zone constitutes a comparatively narrow exterior
fringe of the Alps; it extends from Vienna to the Salzach River cross valley
and gets somewhat wider in Vorarlberg. In general the zones consists of
400 to 900 m high ridges and knolls which, with the exception of the Vienna
Woods in the B and the Bregenz Forest in the Si, do not form connected
groups and therefore do not have any special names. The heights which
consist of quartz and limestone, marl and conglomerates are covered chiefly
with beech forests in the R. In the central section the fields and meadows,
bordered by scrubs ("Hag"), extend far up the slopes. The flysch_
mountains in Vorarlberg, between which we find a chain of Jurassic ime-
stone mountains, in places rise to an elevation of 2,000.0mAand therefore
reveal entirely different forms such as razorbacks and even low aretes
between which cirques are located., The Bregenz Forest no longer *deserves
that name since pastures and meadows predominate there today.
b. The Limestone Alps. Here we distinguish the Low Limestone
'Alps and the High Limestone Alps..
The difference .lies In the varying
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elevations and rock structure.
.(1) The Low Limestone Alps Zone is wider than the.flysch zone
with which it merges without a definite break. In the E it forms knolls
and razorbacks.W of the Enns which consist mostly of dolomite. In'the
LOW LiMOStODO Alps Of Lower Austria, which are 800 to 1,500 m high, rock
pinnacles and rock Walls reach skyward above the slopes which are .thickly
'covered with conifers. Wide and narrow sections followiin rapid succession
in the heavily broken up network of valleys; the wider sections were
important in the rise of settlements.
W of the Enns River and up to the Salzach River the Low Limestone
Alps are interfingered with the High Limestone Alps so that they cannot
be grouped into separate units. Rocks of varying hardness and their
location influence the peculiar forms of the mountains of the Salzkammergut
area, e.g., Mt. Schafberg.
W of the Salzach the major part of the Low Limestone Alps lies on
Gent= territory.
(2) The High Limestone Alps in their eastern part form bosses the
most important of which are Mt. Schneeberg (2,075 m) (elevation figures
taken from the 1:500,000 Map of the Republic Austria, published by the
Federal Bureau of standar( and Surveying (land survey), Vienna last revised
in October 1652), Mt. Raz (2,0011 m), Mt. Schneealpe (1,604 m), it. HOlie
Veitsch (1,982 m), and Mt. Hochschwab.(2,277 m).. They bear extensive
'plateaus with flat knolls while all around reek walls, dented by cirques
higher up, drop down into narrow and deep canyons. The flat areas however
are not always situated at the same elevation; the higher situated ones,
between 1,800 and 2,200 m, bear alpine pastures; the lowest ones extend
down into the forest zone. Earst deadened ,valleys with many steps and
blunt ends, often penetrate deep into the bosses.
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The northeastern spurs of Mt. Hochschwab belong to the mountain
groups which surround the Mariazell Basin and form the source area of the
-radially draining rivers; their deep, often troughlike valleys separate
the several mountain groups.(Mt. Goeller, 1,766 in; Mt. Kraeuterin,
1,919 in; Mt. Zellerhut, 1,639 in; Mt. Duerrenstein, 1,878 in, Mt. Oetscher,
-1,894 m). The western part of these groups is also called the Lamming
Alps.
The Gesaeuse mountains (Enna Valley Alps) wore ocut up into
Several bosses as a result of strong valley formation (Gesaeuse Gorge,
-pyhrn Pass, Buchau Saddle); only here and there do we find small residual
surfaces above high walls which drop down to the Enns River Valley;
Mt. Hochtor and Mt. Planspitze point S with their diagonally inclined
layers, while Mt. Buchstein and Mt. Tamischbachturm point N. There are
also many small aretes (Mt. Hochtor, Mt. Planspitze).
The Totes Gebirge Mountains, the Tennen Wuntains, the Hagen
Mountains, Mt. Untersberg, Mt. Hoher Goell, and the Steinernes Meer
Mountains offer a similar picture: karst surfaces above high walls,
diagonally inclined layers. The Tennen Mountains are known for their
many Ice caves. The plateau of Mt. Hochkoenig (2,938 m) holds the only
plateau glacier In the East Alps ("Uebergoseene Alm").
The plateau of Mt. Dachstein (2,996 m) is 87? sq km large; only
the trough of the Gosau Valley with its ladder of lakes eats into the
mass of this plateau.
This huge boss has six glaciers which drain underground; five of
these glaciers, among them the Hallstatt Glacier, lie on the northside;
since the cirques are separated from each other by steep aretes, the
several peaks jut out noticeably; they are located -around plateaus revealing
karat formaticns; in the northeastern part of the huge bachstein caves.
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In the Lofer and Leogang Rock Mountains (2,511 to 2,634 m), west
of the Salzach, glacial, erosion transformed the plateau noticeably; the
mountains are characterized by cirques lying between 300 to 500 in high.
aretes.
Out of the surrounding valleys the mass of the Kaiser Mountains .
(2,344 m) rises abruptly; the northern, lower chain of these mountains,
has a small plateau which descends toward N, while the southern chain has
-an indented arete. In general one can say that the yaIley furrow of the
Grosse Ache [river] separates the plateau *mountains in the E froi-the -
mountain chains in the W. On the left bank of the Inn Rover, toward
Lake Aehen, we again find small plateaus, partly destroyed by cirques,
in the Sonnwend Mountains; the Karwendel Mountains however consist of
narrow, 2,300 to 2,700 in high chains arranged in the form of a grill;
the Wetterstein Mountains (Mt. Zugspitze, 2,968 m), the Mieminger
Mountains (2,759 0, and Mt. Techirgant (2,372 m) present the same
picture. The deeply cut passes (Seefeld Saddle, 1,185 in; Scharnitzer
!aiause, 957 in; Ehrwald Saddle, 910 in; Fern Pass, 1,209 in; Nassereith
Saddle, 1,126 m) anethe comparatively wide hollows of the Isar River
tributaries. clearly separate the various groups.
Almost all major rivers of the North Tirol Limestone Alps' drain
northward; the source area of the Loisach River was lost as tar as the
- Inn River is concerned due to a rock slide on Fern Pass and the Achen
Valley was similarly lost due to glacial blocking.
The Lechtal Alps, the Allgaeu Alps, and, Mt. Raetikon are about
equally high; their peak formations 'are rather varied due to the heavy
representation of marl rocks and the frequent4steep inclination of the
- layers; deep cuts in aretes separate the peaks. Along the rock boundary
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(limestone in the 118 crystalline in the S) lies Arlberg Pass, 1,800 in,
which is very important to transportation routes. In the Lechtal Alps,
at whose western end the Flexen Pass (1,784 m) makes possible the road
connection between the Kloster Valley and the Lech Valley, lies the
highest elevation of the northern Limestone Alpe, Mt. Parseier Spitze
(3,033 g). The limestone mass of Mt. Raetikon lies S of the Ill River
Valley and bears Lake Luener, the largest cirque lake of the East Alps.
The. pasture zone is larger there. and the forests are not as -big as in the
E.
All groups of the limestone Alps have many caves. We have already
mentioned a few of them. Let us just give the number of caves in several
limestone bosses: Mt. Raz, 22; Ht. Schneeberg, 9; Mt. Hochschwab, 30;
the Totes Gebirge Mountains, 38 (the Salzofen Cave near Bad Aussee with
its prehistoric finds is well known); Mt. Untersbarg? 75; TOnnen Mountains,
117; Hagen Mountains, 32; Steinernes Meer Mountains, 22. The presently
known third-deepest natural shaft of the world, 527 in deep, is located in
the Tonion section near Mariazell (according to doctor Franz Weidner).
3. The Central Allis
From the eastern end of Mt. Raetikon we can trace the. dividing line
between the Limestone Alps in the N and the predominantly crystalline
Central Alps in the S near. Tschagguns etraight across the MentafOn valley
section; near Dalaas it reaches the valley line Kloster Valley -- Arlberg,
Pass Stanzer Valley.-- Senna Valley -- Inn Valley. The Central liAIMg
begin in the W with the Silvretta Group, a border range whose highest parts
(Piz Min, 3,312; Mt. Fluchthorn,,3,403 m) are covered with glaciers.
The'Verwall Group rises N of this area in-the corner between-the MOntafon
valley section and the Paznaun valley.; only a few or its peaks are barely
higher than 3,000 m.
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The mixture of gneiss and red slate produces peculiar formations;
grates, sharp obeliaks, and matterhorns dominate the scene. Here we
already find a'star-shaped radiation of secondary ridges from a common
central point.
The Getz Valley Alps are a Classic example of boss-shaped or star-
shaped structures with radial drainage; they are the most massive
mountains of the Central Alps in Austria.
The nucleus of the mountains is subdivided by mighty collecting
basins because seven elevations over 3,500 in rise in this area. _The_Oetz
Valley Alps have the most glaciers of the East Alps(appro4mately 350 sq km).
The Gepatschenfern Glacier, as the Pasterze Glacier of the Mt. Orossglockner
Group, is one of the longest glaciers of the East Alps (approximately 10 km)
(all length and surface data on glaciers were established around the turn
of the century).
The longest secondary ridges of the mountains run northward between
the Hamer Valley, the Pits Valley, and the Getz Valley; from the glacier
fields rise the peaks that are shaped like pyramids (Mt. Similaun, 3,602 m)
or take the form of snow-covered knolls (Mt. Wild spitze, 3,774 in; Aft.
Weisskugel, 3,736 m).
-Similarly shaped, though less massive are the Stubai Alps (Figure 2);
the main ridge describes a wide arc around the source valleys of the
Stubai Valley. Seven peaks over .3,400 in high (Mti Zupkerhuetl, 3,507 m)
tower above the heaOly glaciated central portion. The very important
Brenner furrow (Wipp Valley, Brenner Pass, Eisack Valley) forns the
-eastern bouactary.
In the eastern part of the otherwise granite-gneiss containing '
mountains consists mostly of. Triassic limestone from which rise among others
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;
Mt. Tribulaun (3,096 m) and, S of Innsbruck, the Ealkkoegel Mountains,
Mt. Saile (2,406 0, and Mt. Waldrastspitze (Mt. Series, 2,718 Or
called the "most beautiful mountain of the Alps" by the geographer
Alexander von Humboldt (died 1859).
The southside of the Oetz Valley Alps and of the Stubai Alps
is in Italy. The Jaufen Pass separatea the Siubai Alps from the Sart%
Valley Alps which surround the Sam n Valley.
There the peaks are as high as 2,700 in, though there'are no
glaciers and though they consist of slate and of quartz porphyry in the
S. There are,pastures on their mostly round formations up to the very
top.
The counterpart of the Oetz Valley Alps is the Ortler Group,
located S of the Vintschgau area, which also has a star-shaped structure
and whose central portion is enveloped by huge ice fields; 98 glaciers
cover an area of 190 sq km here. Mt. (Ortler (3,899 m) consists of a
limestone block. The height of the Ortier Group looks all the more
impressive when viewed against the deep troughs of the Vintschgau area in
the N and the trough line formed by the Noce Valley (Val diiSole, Sulzberg
valley) Tonale Paps (1,883 m) Oligo Valley line in the S. The
AdaMello-Presanella Group, located S of the Tonale Pass, is very im-
.
press4e by virtue of its massiveness, height, structure, and heavy gla-
ciation; it consists of tonalite, a type of granite.
-valley
The Inn Valley
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0000
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Nauders Valley Reschenscheideck Paps r5 Trafoi
Stilfser Saddle -- Adda Valley trough line separates the,Ortler
Group from the Raetische Alps.
Reschenscheideck Pass (1,508 m) (the local name is, "Reschea7. aasu"-
"Passo Resia" being the Italifthasfor)iisial:Wictelmalley,iwatershedgwhich was
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scooped out by a branch of the ice age Inn Glacier; the lakes of the
HtiOh source area were blocked by a rubble cone, From 1920 to 1924 a road
was built over the Stilfser Saddle (2,757 m) which was a greatly admired
achievement of the Austrian government at the time.
Bast of the Brenner trough rise the Zillertal Alps which are ---
divided into theltorthern Tuxer Ridge and the southern Ziller Ridge by the
Valley Pfitscher Saddle (2,251 m) trough; both consist of granite
gneiss and mica schist and have a pronounced feather-shaped, though uneven
structure; both are heavily glaciated.
Due to its great length -- 20 km for the Tuxer Ridge and 28 km for
the Ziller Ridge -- the total glaciated area is larger than that in the
Stubai Alps; from the grey and brown rubble hollows rise high peaks which
in the Tuxer Ridge (lt. Olperer) reach 3,480 in and in the Ziller Ridge
(lt. Hochfeiler) 3,510 in.
The Gerlos Valley -- Gerlos Pass (1,507 m) Salzach Valley
trough clearly separates the Zillerta/ Alps from the Kitzbuehler Alps
r-
toward N. The Krimml Valley, the Krimml Tauern Mountains (2,633 m), or
Mt. Birnluecke (2,667 in; "Gibiriluka? meaning mountain gap), and the
Ahrn Valley form the boundary between the Zillertal Alps andthe Hohe
l'auern Mountains. The latter were named for the looal term for saddles
which lead the traveller across the mountains at 2,400 to 2,700 in elevation
, and which divide the mountains ,into heavily glaciated groups'. The heaviest
glaciation is found in the Mt.. Venediger Group (more than 150 sq km),;
the Mt. Granatspitz Group and the Mt, Glockper Group have glacier areas
of 120 sq km each. In the Mt. Glockner Group we find the largest glacier
(the Pasterze Glacier, 30 sq km large), the highest peak (lt. Grossglocknert.
3,797 m) and the highest situated road (lt. Hochtor, 2,505 m) of the
,Agatrian Alps. Olt. Grossglockner was first climbed on 29 July 1800 by a
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five-man group from a 62-man expedition.) In the Mt. Sonnblick Group
(Mt. Goldberg Group) we find Austria's highest Weather station at 3,105 m.
The Mt. Ankogel-Hodhalmspitz Group (34253 m) surrounds the source area of
the Malta River. Mt. Hafner.(3,076 16), the eastern pillar bears the last
glacier of the Central Alps. The. Hohe Tauern Mountains split in the
-source area of the Mur River and end on Mt. MUrtoerl (2,263 m) in the
NE and Mt. Katschberg (1,641 m) in the SE.
The Rohe Tauern Mountains consist of the same rock types as
the Zillertal Alps, although slate predominates so that we can speak of
_
-a "slate envelope" of the Hobe Tauern Mountains; this envelope caused
great difficulties in the construction of the Mt. Grossglockner High
Alpine Road. The tunnel of the Tam= railroad leads through granite
gneiss which is very noticeable in the eastern part of the mountains.
The Hobe Tauern Mountains also have the same sort of feather-shaped structure
as the Zillertal Alps. The parallelism of the ridges and valleys is
especially noticeable on the northside; the valleys reveal regular steps,
smooth trough walls, and waterfalls; quite often they end in big gorges
Such as those of Gastein, the Raurische Ache [river], and the Grosse Ar].
(Liechtenstein Gorge) which were partly-brought about by a limestone strip
which runs along the northern foot of the mountains.
The secondary ridges and valleys on the southside have a different
shape. The Iso]., Moell, and Lieser valleys and their tributaries cut off .
mountain groups which are separated from the main ridge of the Rohe Tauern
Mountains only by high saddles and which lie in the S, in front of 44,40
main ridge. The secondary branches of the Mt. Grossvenediger Group extend
farthest of all; they run parallel to the main ridge and form high-mountain-
type groups situated in front of the ridge. The Mt. Rieserfernpr or.
Mt. Hochgall Group (3,435 m), a tonalite boss, is heavily glaciated. The
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mica schist ranges of the Defereggen Mountains and of the Mt. Schober__
Group p,240 m) reveal manifold peaks and aretes; similar to these are-
'the groups of Mt. Kreuzeck (Polinik, 2,784 m) and Mt. Reisseck (2,959 in,
gneisa).
In the N of the Hohe Tauern Mountains, between the Zill Valley
. and the furrow of Lake Zell, we find the Kitzbuehler
They are part of the slate .oragraywacke zone which consists of
Paleozoic rocks (including quartz porphyry, various kinds of slate,
graywacke, limestone, and dolomite); this zone constitutes a rather
narrow strip between the northern Limestone Alps and the Central Alpe.
This zone begins in a clearly recognizable manner at the Brenner
col with the TUxer Slate Mountains, continues with the Kitzbuehler Alpe,
and extends to the Enna River E of Lake Zell; it becomes broader in
the Eisenerz Alps and ends in a narrow strip on Mt. Semmering,. This zone
is economically important because it contains iron ore, copper ore, and
magnesite deposits.
The largest section of the graywacke zone is represented by the
Kitzbuehler Alps. Its northern parts are divided into several mountain
groups by the Hopfgartner Ache end the Kitzbuehler Ache; these groups,
e.g., Mt. Heoh Salve (1,927 m) and Mt. Hahnenkamm (1;655 m), are famous
scenic observation points. The same is true of Mt. Schmittenhoehe (1,965 m),
the eastern end of the range. The Thurn Pass 11,274 m)-is an important
passage way from the Salzach Valley to the N. The broad, rounded ridges
of the Slate Alps bear vast pastures ("Grasberge/gftass mountaina7); sharp
...,
.---,
,
peak formations (Mt. Kitzbuehler Horn, limestone; Mt. Grosser Rettenstein,
dolomite) occur where limestone has overtaulted. The broad longitudinal
valley furrows. running in a W E direction from Woergl to Saalfelden
are very OW1$0.Mtk9V; the valley floors of these furrows, with their, moraine
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ruble and large rubble cones, favor settlement and transportation.
The Hochfilzen Pass (959 m) and the Griessen Pass (941 m), situated in
the northern Limestone Alps, constitute wide plateaus. The longitudinal
furrows make up a distinct boundary against the Limestone Alps.
The Niedere Tauern Mountains describe a wide arc from Mt. MUrtoerl
to the broad col formed by the line Palten Valley -- Schober Pass Liesing
Valley. They are clearly separated from the Limestone Alps by the Fritz
-Valley and the Enna Valley and from the other parts of the Central Alps
by the MUr Valley. Like the Hohe Tauern Mountains, they consist of
.gneiss and mica schist ind therefore look like them; the Niedere 'Morn
Mountains however are not glaciated. Mt. Hochgolling (2,683 m), the
highest point, lies in the Schladmingar Tauern Group.
Ice age glaciation left its traces in the form of cirques, cirque
lakes, and trough valleys with steps. The Niedere Tauern Mountains have
the largest number of cirque lakes in the Alps. Their feather-shaped
structure is even more pronounced than in the case of the Rohe Tauern
Mountains.
Though the Niedere Tauern Mountains are more readily negotiable,
_there are only two, albeit very old roads leading over the divide. In the
W there are the Radstaedter Tauern Mountains (1,739 m) whose approach
valleys significantly bear the same name both in the N and in the S, i.e.,
"Taurach Valley"; this is the connection between the Lungau and Pongau
areas. in the E the "Tauern Road" leads over the Rottenmanner Tauern or
MOhentauern Mountains (1,2A6 in) from the Peels Valley, which penetrates
deepest into the mountains, to the Palten Valley and then runs into the
road over the Schober Pass.
Though they do not form distinctly separate groups, the groups of
the Niedere Tauern Mountains take their names from the most important miijiwt
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towns of the valleys, e.g., Radstaedter, Schladminger, Woelzer, and
Rot ternmanner Tauern and Seckauer Alps.
East of Walter Heights (Schober Pass) lie the Eisenerz Alps and
E of Mt. Prebichl the Brucker Alps. The former are richer in their
formations due to the many rock types; above the rounded, wooded mountains
of Paleozoic slate tower the highest peaks in the form of limestone
knolls (Mt. Goesseck, 2;215 in; Mt. Eisenerzer Reichensteins 2,166 m).
Due to their rock types (slate gneiss and granite gneiss) and
due to their lower elevation, the Brucker-Alps reveal wooded, rounded
formations up to the very peaks which contrast against the white, abrupt
walls of the Limestone Alps behind them. The boundary against the latter
is not formed by &definite depth line; it leaves the Enna Valley and
in the form of a valley furrow only here and there runs along the line
Johnsbach
Radmer Eisenerz Aflenz Neuberg. Between the Brucker
Alps and the Limestone Alps we find the small basins of Trofaiach and
The southeastern wing of the Central Alps begins with Mt. Katschberg
in the Gurktaler Alps between the Mur and Drau rivers. Broad, wooded, and
pasture-covered ridges, locally called "No64e," predominate as a result of
the uniform rock type (slate). High mountain formations with cirque lakes
-and step valleys are found only in the higher parts in the area of Mt.
-Eisenhut (2,441 m) and Mt. Koenigsstuhl (2,331 m). The-Gurk River and its
tributaries divide the Gurktaler Alps into several groups, making for
eeee.
eee.
rather easily passable country; there is a road leading over Turracher Heights
(1,763 m). We find more lakes in the eouthern parts Lake Millstatt, Lake
Brenn, Lake Afritz, and Lake Ossiach, all of which were formed by the ice age
Drau Glacier (scooping of basins, blocking due to moraines). The col
formed by Keumarkter Saddle and the Olsa, Metnitz, and Gurk valley line
constitutes the distinct eastern boundary .of the Gurktaler Alps,
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E of these broad cols we find several groups of the Central
Alps which partly intertwine at Obdacher Saddle (945 0; the latter
connects the Mur Valley with the Lavant Valley and thence with the Drau
Valley. The Seetaler Alps in the NW received their name from the many
cirque lakes in the higher parts of the broad ridge where mica schist in
-places forms heavily rubbled aretes (Mt. Zirbitzkogel, 2,396 m) which
-are bordered by a broad pasture belt. More uniform is the ridge of the
southward-trending Saualpe Mountain which reveals no high mountain forma-
? tions whatever.
Parallel to the Obdacher Saddle -- Upper Lavant Valley line of
strike, the Packalpe range rises in the X, joined in the NE by the
Stubalpe, Oleinalpe, and Hochalpe mountains belonging to the gneiss arc
swinging from Mt. Stuhleck to Mt. Koralpe. Wooded valleys cut into this
ridge which is rich in pastures and has few subdivisions.
Toward the S Mt. Mckalpe runs into Mt. Koralpe (2,144 m) which
precipitately drops to the Lavant Valley basin; the latter is considered
a geosynclinal basin. Mt. Saualpe and Mt. Koralpe are desk-shaped ridge
faults. Woods and pastures dominate the landscape. Wooded ridges shoot
-off from Mt. Koralpe toward SE; they border the Kainach and Sulm river
area and break off abruptly along the line'Eibiswald Deutschlandsberg
Stainz Koeflach. East of this line we come to low hill country (500
to 300 m) with rich lignite deposits of the Tertiary sea; a few heights
of the sunken basal complex,. which consists of Paleozoic limestone and
slite, rise in the form of individual mountains (Mt. Sausal, 760 in;
Wildouer Schlossberg, 551 m).
. The continuation of Mt. Koralpe is formed on Yugoslav soil by
Mt. Pessruck and the wooded granite gneiss mountains of Mt. Bachern
(Bacher Mountains).
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East of the Mur River the Gleinalpen Range continues in the
form of the wooded Fischbacher Alps which consist of gneiss and slate.
The latter run along the MUerz Valley in the E; their northern end is
formed by Mt. Stuhleck (1,783 m), the easternmost mountain with cirque
formations in the Central Alps.
Going further E, we run into the broad ridge of Mt. Wechsel (1,738 m),
the last peak of the Central Alps which has pastures ("Schwaigen").
Mt. Stuhleck and Mt. Weckzel lead into the Mt. Semmering land-
scape. Semmering Pass (985 m) constitutes the end of the teetdnicallyy
traced longitudinal valley furrow of the MUerz Valley.
Like mighty steps, two plateaus lie in front of Mt. Wechsel in
the E and 8: in the E we have the Bucklige Welt Plateau, a heavily cut
plateau 600 to 900 in high, whose valley slopes and round knolls bear
woods and whose ridges bear fields. Here, on Burgenland soil, towers
Mt. Pauliberg, the wooded chimney of an old volcano with which begins the
series of volcanic mountains along the eastern fringe of the Alps.
Looking like uplands, the Bucklige Welt Plateau juts out toward E where
it ends in wooded Mt, Geschriebenstein (883 m); this is the easternmost
point of the continuous mass of the Central Alps. The island-shaped
range of the Leitha Mountains constitutes the connection with the Car-
- -pathians.
S of Mt. Wechsel and SE of the upper Feistritz River spreads the
hill country
Vals
the Styrian Bucklige Welt Plateau, the so-called "Joggi-
land," the second major step. A few gneiss heights reach up to 1,200 in.
They are joined to the W of the Feistritz River by the Raabtaler Alps,
the source area of the Raab and its western tributaries; Paleozoic
: limestone knolls (Mt. Hochlantsch, 1,722 in; Mt. Schee-tie, 1,445 111) with
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" many caves tower over the 900 to 1,300 in high wooded mountain
landscape.
The crystalline mountain ridges E of the Muerzl.Mmr, and Levant
rivers, from Mt. Wechsel to the Becher Mountains are lumped together
under the name "Styrian Fringe Mountains" Oteirisches Randgebirdgel.
The latter surroUnds the East Styrian (Styriaw-Burgenland) Hill Country
which connects with the lower extension of
river tributaries and consists entirely of
sea.
the valley fan of the-Riab
deposits of the Torti4ry
The KlagenfUrt Basin, the largest in the East Alps, lies between
the Central Alps and the South Alps; it is roughly delineated by the
line Villach -- St. Veit -- Bleiburg Ferlach Villach.
4. The South Alps
The South Alps consists mostly, especially on Yugoslav soil, of
limestone so that they can be called the Southern Limestone Alps with full
justification.
The southeastern pillars of these high mountains
slavia -- are the Steiner Alps whose Mighty rock peaks rise to more than
- 2,500 in (at. Grintavac) from the vast beech forests around the hese and .
- which have few pastures. They are joined by the Karawanken Range which
extends to the Gailitz Valley arLd whose eastern piedmont.peak is Mt.
Hochobir (2,142 m). They are noticeably uniform and have abrupt walla
with mighty rubble hollows which extend down into the forest region. -The
peculiar mountain formations are indicated by the names of the mountains
(Mt. Hochstuhli'2,238 in; Mt. Kosuta (meaning "tower"), Mt. Mittagskogel,
etc). 'There are three roads -- one via Seeborg Saddle (1,218 0, the
1?????
locai6a?i-a?t11800?
second via Loibl Pass (11368 sal and the third via Wurzen Pass (1,073 m)
which connect the Klagenfurt BaSin and the Laibach.Basin to the S.
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After the Karawanken Mountains, beyond the national frontier,
in the group of passes near Tarvis (Saifnitzer Saddle in the W, 804
in; Predil Pass in the Sp 1,156 in; Weissenfelser Saddle in the E, 854 m),
we come to the Julian Alps which extend S and are much higher (Mt.
Triglav, 2,863 m); they constitute the second southeast pillar of the
high mountains and Surround the sources of the Isonzo and Save rivers
in the form of a massive limestone range with rock walls and rubble
hollows. Here we find Ternovan Forest which extends to the Karst area.
,
The Carnic Alps begin W of the Oailitz River; they consist of
the southern graywacke zone with a superposed limestone zone from the
Paleozoic and Triassic. The steep limestone peaks are almost 2,800 in
high (Mt. Rohe Warte, 2,780 m); pastures are spread out on slate rock.
The valleys leading to the Gail River are short andlsteep. The Carnic
Alps, 100 km long and 15 km wide, are the slimmest mountain range of
the East Alps. Ploecken Pass (1,360 m) was used alreadibby the Romans.
Parallel to the Carnic Alps we find the Gailtaler Alps which consist
of Mesozoic limestone and graywacke; they fill the two triangles formed
by the Drau River and the straight Gail Valley. The eastern part, the
Gailtaler Alps proper, is lower and ends in the limestone? knoll of
Mt. Villacher Alpe (Mt. Dobratsch, 2,167.m), the "Mt. BUJ. of Carinthia."
Lake Weissen is intrenched in the Gailtaler Alps. West of the low
Gailberg Saddle (982 in; Oberdrauburg Mauthen. road) lie the Lienz
Dolomites which are locally called "the monsters" because of their mighty,
jagged peaks.
The remaining parts of the southern Limestone Alps are outside
Austria. The South Tirol Dolomites, extending to the line Sexton Valley
Mt. Kreuzberg (1,63( m) -- Piave River Val Sugana, reveal the.
/MOO
greatest variety of formations and colors.
?
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1'
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Despite the name they bear, they are not exclusively Made up 'of
-dolomite; in the W we find, rising out of an approximately 1,200 to. 1,600
in high, heavily canyoned porphyry plateau, the towers and pinnacles of
Triassic limestone and dolomite blocks (Mts. Latemar, Rosengarten,
Langkofel, Sella, glaaiated Mt. Marmolata (3,342 m), the Pala Group, etc).
In the S rises the granite boss of Cima d'Asta (2,848 m). Triassia
limestone forms mighty bosses in the Ampezzo and Sexton Dolomites (Monte
Cristallo, 3,216 in; Mt. Drei Zinnen, Mt. Tofana, etc). The much travelled
roads over the various Deleniten passes .leading to Bolzano were built by
the Austrian government prior to 1918.
5. The Vienna Basin
Aacording to its origin, the Vienna Basin is a geosynclinal basin
running from SW to NE between the Alps and the Carpathians. It is
approximately 150 km long between its terminal points at Neunkirchen and
NapaJedl N of Hodonin on the March River; between the Vienna Gap and the
Hainburg Gap it is approximately 60 km wide.
The approximately 4,000 sq km large connecting part between the
Alps and the Carpathians began to break down during the middle Tertiary,
the Miocene (Table 12[pago 219 of original]), while the Alps and the
Carpathians rose. The Crystalline Zone -- drilling revealed crystalline
bedrock at a depth of 1,412 in in the Wiener Neustadt Gate -- and the 'Lime-
stone Alps Zone were buried chiefly S of the Danube; the flysch and Llme-
stone Alps zones were buried chiefly N of the Danube in the area between
- the Mt. Bisamberg Range, the Falkensteiner Mountains,. and the Caipathiins.
Bedrock was struck in the center of the basin (alpine limestone) near
Aderklaa at a depth of 2,726 in.
The line of disturbance is proved by the thermal springs appearing
along the eastern and western edges, especially in the southern part.
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Subsequent subsidences along the edges took place during the Pliocene;
this is proved by the downthrust and ,slanting of the.brawncoal layers
in the. Wiener Neustadt Gate area. Many breaks and cracks were%ostabl-
lished through drilling especially in the interior of the area. Many
earthquakes, confined to the fault lines along the edge of the basin,
Attest to the continuing changes,
In the large basin a sweet-water lake formed in the beginning;
its brown coal deposits are legated at,Eirt near Gioggnitz and at
Leiding near Pitten. Later the Mediterranean Sea (Tortonian) pushed
from SE into the area which continued to drop; in the flat lake formed
in this manner dend and clay were deposited in the center and present-
day Leitha limestone and conglomerates were deposited along the edges.
All troughs situated on AlOine-Carpathian soil were separated from the
sea as a result of earth crust movements in the SE of Europe and Asia
Minor during the Sarmatian, the last step of the Miocene. The sea became
brackish. The surf transformed the Leitha limestone partly into cal-
careous sandstone; in the interior the sand and clay were replaced with
a different fauna. The Sarmatian sands account for a considerable part
of the petroleum and natural gas in the eastern Carpathian Foreland.
During the subsequent Pannonian, the first step of the Pliocene, the
great lake was completely out off from the sea and filled with sweet water by
the rivers, As a result there occurred another change in the fauna.
Rough shore formations and gravel wore deposited along the edges of the
basin; in the interior sands, clay, and marl Were deposited. Briiin coal
deposits developed along the edge of the-Wieder Neustadt Gate.
The water level changed repeatedly in the various phases of basin
formation. The subsidence of the basin bedrock gradually came to a
standstill and the continuing filling process brought sediments'whinh
caused the interior of the basin to, turn into land.
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The fringe areas el the basin were terraced as a result of the
- -
varying water level.
This is particularly clear in the southern part. The highest
terrace was established at 540 in. Straits became especially'pronounced
'at an-elevation of about 350 in. The Leitha Mountains and the Hainburg
Mountains were islands or at times shoals, when they were flooded.
Rivers deposited gravel on top of the sea deposits. Danube gravel
was superposed on the northern edge of the southern part of the basin as
early as toward the end of the Pliocene; this protected the sediments
below against erosion. The rubble surfaces were cleaned out again in
part by a predecessor of the Danube when the erosion base was moved further
down. Rubble deposit and rubble removal followed each other repeatedly
during the ice ago. This resulted in the lower terrace landscape in the
Vienna area (Figure 11) and in the partly terraced gravel surfaces in
the March Plain area. Ice age predecessors of the Schwarza Pitten, and
Piesting rivers poured huge gravel masses into the southern end of the
basin.
In the area E of the Mt. Bisamberg Range and the Falkensteiner
Mountains, like the rest of the Carpathian Foreland, is covered by river-
deposited gravel fans, sand, and clay plus a strong loess layer. For
this reason as well ae due to its location this landscape is considered
to be part of the Carpathian Foreland. The plain between the March River
and the Carpathians, which .belongs to the Vienna Basin structurally, -lies
outside Austria.
The March Plain,. a broad river plain of the Danube, is part of the
Vienna Basin on Austrian soil, N of the Danube; for this reason it can
also be included in the Danube landscapes (see page 41). The triangular
part S of the Danube is called Vienna Bay or Wiener Neustadt Bay.
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The gravel surf aces S of the Danube ire penetrated by the
Schwechat and Fische rivers and are thus divided into three groups: that
of Mt. Wienerberg and Mt. Laieiberg, that of the Rauchenwarther Plateau;
and the Koenigsberg -- Ellender Forest. In the so-called "vet plain"
adjoining to the S there is no gravel; instead, Pannonian clay marl
turns up; as a result the terrain is very damp and partly swampy. The
southern part is taken up by the Steinfeld Plain with its- large gravel
surfaces; it is called the "dry plait." The water bodies flowing on top
lose much water to the groundwater stream which comes out at the southern
edge of the wet plain and pro4Ces heavily ramified network of water
:?
bodies.
B. The Foreland in the East
The development of the Vienna Basin is only a partial phenomenon
of the great changes which occurred along the eastern fringes of the Alps
since the middle Tertiary. Here, at the flexure point of the strike line,
the parts connecting the Central Alps and the interior of the Carpathians
crashed into the depths. The Eisenstadt Basin, the Pullendorf Basin, and
the Graz Bay, as the hill country in southern Burgenland and southeastern
_Styria is called by the geologist, developed along the edges of the Alps.
The boundary against the mountains is formed by the line Rechnitz.
_Friedberg -- Hartberg.-- Weiz -- Graz -- Voitsberg Deutschlandsberg
and the eastern edge of the Possruck Mountains and the Becher Mountains.
-The Hainburger Mountains, the Leitha Mountains, Mt. Rosalie, and the
Rust Bill Range: as well as the Oedenburger Mountains and the Guens
Mountains remained as heaved blocks.
The great geosyncline which extends into Yugoslavia and Hungary
-Was filled with the same sediments as'the Vena Basin.
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In Styria the beach terraces are situated considerably higher
than in the Vienna Bay since the fringe area of the mountains was raised
further. Leitha limestone was also deposited' along the Rust Bill,Rang.9
and near Leibnitz. Many fault lines runathrough the bed rock, HOrG we
find the warm springs and carbonated springs of Burgenland and the mineral
springs of Styria. Young Tertiary falling and downthrusts took place
well into the ice age. Earthquakes in certain zones, especially in
-Burgenland, prove that the interior of the geosyncline has likewise not
come to rest as yet. Great coal deposits developed along the fringes,
- e.g., near Koeflach-Voitsberg, Eibiswald-Wies, Oedenburg, Tauchen, Ritzing,
Weis, Fuerstenfeld, etc.
Volcanic formations in the shape of volcanic cones or lava streams
branched off from the Vienna Basin in an arc-shaped zone strip from
Mt. Stradner Kogel near Gleichenberg to Mt. Pauliberg in central Burgen-
land; over 40 eruptions are known there.
The ice age rivers deposited masses of gravel; terraces remained
during the subsequent clearing process.
The present landscape offers little variation. The gravel terrace
of Parndorf Heatb.4 lies approximately 50 m and that of the Seewinkel area
lies about 15-5 m/[sic] above the present level o2 the Danube. Shallow,
salt-containing. take Neusiedel seems to lie in the area of 8 very recent
depression.
Adjoining this areal the Raab and Mur rivers and their tributaries cut
up the Tertiary hill country into an interatream plateau tonography with
broad valley benches and wide valley floors; Ois part gradually dips SE
from awielevation of 500 m and forms the transition to the Upper Hungarian
. ,
The'yolcanic elevations rise quite characteristically; many of
them were ideal locations for castles (Kapfenstein,-Gleichenberg, Riegers-
, ,
burg, Guessing).
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The Mur River flows through a broad plain covered by ice age
? deposits. The block of Wildoner Mountain divides the plain into the
Graz Field in the N and the Leibnitz Field in the S.
South of the Mur River the Tertiary hill country continues via
the Windische Bueheln plugs on Yugoslav soil.
-C. The Alpine Foreland
The area between the northern edge of the Alps and the Danube
is called the Alpine Foreland; the Danube also cuts off small parts of
the MUehlviertel area and the Waldviertel area which are included in
this section. The entire section is 260 km long and-10-20 km wide on
Austrian soil.
The flysch zone of the Alps runs into unruly hill country (600-
300 m) with knobs, ridges, and small basins as well as irregular water
bodies; in the N the zone changes into gently undulating laths which
run along the rivers and larger brooks. Only the feather-shaped wooded
ridge of Mt. Hauaruck m) and the broad Robernauser Forest (752 m)
-rise in this area in the form of an upland area.
The western part of the area up to the Rnns River coaiiets partly
of ice age moraine rubble, partly of slate-like, blue-grey, marly-sandy.
rock, called schlier.
Drillings near WOls, which struck bedrock at depths of 1,036 in and
1,240 mt disclosed that the schlier is over 1,000 in thick there; it con-
tains the iodine springs of Bad Hall, the hot springs of_Schallerbach,
and certain natural gas deposits which are used for heating purpcses'in
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Schlier is also found on the valley bottoms of the rivers. It
is considered a neriti6 formation of the Tertiary fringe sea (Maass?
sea) of the Alps; along the S edge it is superposed by flysch and was also
folded there. Here and there it is superposed by hard sands which are
poor in clay (e.g., Melk sand) and which in some .places were consolidated
into sandstone; the latter was quarried for use in 'millstones (Perg,
Wallsee).
The moraine hills between the Salzach River and Mt. Hiusruck belong'
to the ice age Salzach glacier; the moraine hills on the N end of Lake Atter
and of Lake Traun belong to the Traun glacier; in the area of Kremsmuenster
the terminal moraines of a branch of the Enns glacier, which pushed over
Pyhrn Pass, virtually form an amphitheater.
Along the rivers we can trace certain distinct steps and terraces
which however are not everywhere preserved in their original sequence;
_
the elevations which form the watersheds, when viewed from afar, look like
a plain so that one can speak of "plateaus" located between the main
rivers such as the Inn, the Tram, the Ybbs, the Erlauf, and the Traisen;
the largest plateau is the "Traun Enna Plateau." .0neacan clearly
distinguish.twm steps differing in elevation by about 20 to 30 in,. which
frequently bear the name "Eben" and which in scientific language are
_called high terrace's and low terraces; the low terrace is loess-free
'while the high terrace 'is rich in loess in addition to erosion loam.
The many gravel pits along the slopes show that both terraces are made
Up of river gravel.
During every advance of the .glaciers the water volume was
tremendous due to higher precipitation; in this connection gravel masses
were piled up in the form of fiat surfaces in the valleys and icothilla:
As the water volume shrank, a deep-reaching and powerful clearing process
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took place during the warmer interim periods; this clearing action
was supported by the general rise of the Central European area and by
the worldwide drop of the see level. The remnants of old gravel masses -
today constitute terraces.
The valley floors are rich in water and are often covered by
swampy meadows. The Alpine Foreland consists mostly of fields; the
woods are mostly small patches, so-called "Schachen." Only the gravel
floor of the low terraces is often covered with pine and fir. forests,
e.g., Weilhart Forest near Mattighofen, and Forst Heath near Amstetten;
the name "Steinfold" [stone field] S of St. Poelten also speaks for the
particular type of soil.
Mt. Hausruck and Kobernauser Forest also consist of gravel which
is rich in quartz pebbles and lies on schlier at a thickness of 100-200 m.
The gravel of Mt. Hausruck and of Robernauser Forest is considered
a remnant of a gravel surface which covered the foothills like a blanket
and extended as far as across the edge of the MUehlviertel area.
The sea, the ice age glaciers, the rivers, and the wind shared in
the shaping of the base and formations of the Alpine Foreland.
IL The Carpathian Foreland
The NE part of Austria between the Manhartsberg Range, the Danube,
and the March is a zone of transition between the Bohemian Massif, the
Alpine Foreland, and the Alps on the one hand and the Carpathians on the
other hand. This area is also called the "hill country below Mt. Manharts-
berg," popularly referred to as the "Weinviertel" area.
It-consists of low hill country 200-400 m high and has wide
synclinal valleys and small valley basins. The Danube plains bulge into
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14.
3.1
ref
the area for instance in the form of the Tulin Plain and the March
Plain. In the N the Laa Plain is the largest flat area of the region.
A few buttesrise between 1.00-200 m abdve the hill country. They form
the Continuation of the Vienna Woods (the long-drawn-out flysch hills
of the Rohrwald Range and the Mt. Blomberg Range), extend from. the .
Leiser Mountains to the Pollauer Mountains in Moravia in a markedly
straight line running almost parallel to the Manhartsberg Range, and
consist moatly of Jurassic limestone .(Leiser Mountains including
Mt. Buschberg, 492 m; Falkensteiner Mountains, 425 miPollauer Mountains,
550_m).
The bedrock W of the cliff zone consists of weathered deposits
of the Tertiary sea (sand, Marl, schlier) and river gravel. Successful
drillling in the bedrock E ibf the cliff zone disclosed petroleum and
natural gas. It was established first of all that there are flysch
ridges in the deep layers which lie between the Alpine and Carpathian
flysch in the form of a downfaulted link and that, in conjunction with
this part, the area is crossed by breaks running in all direction and
that.downthrusts took place at great depths This is also indicated
by the mineral springs. The depression which, in a geological sense, is
formed by the Vienna Basin was filled up with the same sediments as
the basin part S of the Danube.
- The soil east of the cliff area consists, as mentioned, previously,
of river gravel, 000, and clay which are extensively covered with loess,
a very fine-grained, unstratified, and calciferous dusty sand. The
latter was blown to this area from moraines and river deobits during
the. ice age. In some places it is up to 39 m thick,
The-loess deposits here and there considerably flattened the soil
relief. In them we find deeply cut dry valleys (gullies). In the loess
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area the the valleys often have uneven slopes since the deposits were
made mostly on the. slope away from the wind.
The tributaries of the Danube and March river's flow in broad-
bottomed, step-like valleys. The hill country has many valleys but is
poor in running water. In addition to the climate, the loess and sand soil
is one of the major factors in the extensive viniculture of the area.
-Er.
The Bohemian Massif Part and the German Uplands Pari
Austria has on its territory a section of the German Uplands in
the form of the SW edge of the Bohemian Forest and the SE part of the
Bohemian-Moravian Heights. Thus the southern corner of the great square
formed by the old continental mass of Bohemia belongs to Austria! There-
fore these-uPlaiids, which extend to Mt. Manhartsberg in Lower Austria,
are called the "Bohemian Massif."
The Upper Austrian part is called the MUehlviertel areaiafter
the MUehl River; the Lower Austrian part is called the "Waldviertel" area
since forests predominate here.
The Bohemian Forest, its main ridge forming the international .
frontier, extends into Upper Austria in the form of Mt! Ploeckenstein (1,378 m)
and Mt. Hodhfichtel'(1,337 m) and ends in Mt. Sternstein (1,125 m) at a
saadle over which flows the Feldaist River; here Kerschbaumer Saddle (685 m)
-connects the Danube area with Bohemia.
, The highlands S of the Gmuend Gap (491 m) in the border area are
as high as 1,000 in. The mountain ranges change into undulating hill
country 900 to 400 in high which in the W consists of coarse- and fine-
grained granite up to the line Isper Mettle Kautzen; E of this line
gneiss and mica schist predominate; they are deposited in the form of narrow
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strips of crystalline lime, graphite, and serpetine, running N S.
In the granitic highlands peculiar pillow- and bag-shaped granite blocks
farm partly the peaks of the knolls ("pulpit mountains") and partly they
cover the latter and their slopes with something like a continuous
blanket ("rubble drifts" and "block talus"); partly, they are so to speak
Wrinkled along the valley slopes and valley bottoms. High moors are
imbedded in this "bowlder landscape."
The rivers of the granitic highlands generally run from N to S
in pairs. The main watershed between the Danube and the Elbe, which
forms part of the Central European watershed, runs through granite all
the way without however climbing to extraordinary heights. In their
upper course the rivers run through flat depressions and small valley7
basins; in their lower course they cut the S edge of the highlands into
deep, trough-like valleys and even gorges.
In the gneiss highlands the rivers run from W to E with the
exception of the upper course of the Thaya River; the Krems and Kamp
rivers turn sharply SE; their upper course likewise runs through flat
depressions. In the E however they form deep, winding valleys from
whose forested, step-like slopes rise rock groups. The many shorter and
longer tributary brooks run into the highlands in. narrow troughs.
In the far eastern part we can discern a distinct line (Krems
Eggenburg Retz Znaim) formed by granite found in the highlands
as well as in small, propositioned buttes. This rim area bas_been,
named the Manhartsberg Range after its highest point. Mt. Manhartsberg
(36 m). E of Zoebing there is a small block of reddish sandstone from
Permian times.
?????
The Danube Valley does not form the distinct southern border of the
Bohemian Massif all along the line; in deep, winding valleys the Danube
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cuts off.certain parts of the highlands, e. g., the plateau
(876 m), Kuernberg Forest (524 m), the plateau of Neustadtl
of Sau Forest
(596 m), Mt.
?Hiesberg (553 0, and Dunkelstein Forest (712 m).
The Bohemian Massif is considered a remnant, a trunk, of the .
Central European basal complex of the Carbonaceous which was cut up by
faults and depressions. This complex was cut away as early as during
Permian times. In the E One can recognize an overfault of the rim zone
(Moravian rim zone) which continues into Moravia; this overfa&t was
caused by the older basal complex (Moldanubian basal complex) situated
between the Moldau and Danube rivers. The overfault line is in no way
indicated by the surface configuration. During the Triassic and Jurassic
the Bohemian Massif was a continent which, it is assumed, -extended close
to the present-day Wechsel area; the deposits of the chalk sea; which
we find in Bohemia, are absent in this section.
The eastern and southern parts of this continent began to drop
during the Tertiary. As a result of the northwestward movement OiTthe
Alpine folding, one picee after another of the Bohemian Massif was pressed
into the depths in the 8 and SE and covered by Tertiary deposits Caolasse).
'Drillings in the following places revealed bedrock: Web, at 1,036 in and
4
-1,240 m; SE of Haag at 630 in; NW of Neulengbach at 740m; MOSspierbaum at
91 m;/Ahsdorf at 404 11 E Of the line Abadorf Hollabrunn Mailberg
iherbedrock is assumed to be at-depths of 3,000 At the same time broad
?
steps And small depressions and basins were formetpn the interior as a
,
result of step faults; the Feldaist Gap, the .Gmuend Gap., the Gallneukirchen
Bisint and the Horn Basin seem to have developed-in this manner; only the
(two last-named were penetrated by the Tertiary sea which surrounded the
iqdge of the plucked Bohemian Massif; in
/o points as high as soi) in along todair s
? he bay of a sweet-water lake whichAlilled southern Bohemia during the
[Gligobene.
the E and S its deposits extended
elevations; the Gmuend da0-was
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?
?
THE DANUBE LANDSCAPE TYPES
Of Austria's far west more than 2,300 sq km are drained by the ?
Rhine; of the NW corner almost 2,000 sq km are drained to the Moldau and
Elbe; the rest of Austria belongs to the Danube River system.
Of the Danube's total length of 2,860 km, a 350-km stretch is
situated on Austrian territory. This stretch begins along the right
bank 2 1/2 km below the mouth of the Inn River at Passau (river kilo?
meter marker No 2,223) and ends 11 km below Hainburg (river
marker No 1,873). The left bank .3