Eissee
Encyclopedia
The Upper and Lower Eissee are two lakes in the Dachstein Mountains
in the Austrian state of Upper Austria
. They lie north of a high mountain, the Gjaidstein
, at an elevation of around 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft).
, the Taubenkar. It was left behind by the melting of the Hallstätter Glacier
that, until the middle of the 19th century, still extended as far as the doline
of the upper Taubenkar. When the glacier retreated (today its snout lies at about ), the Lower Eissee was left behind in the basin, because the moraine
gravel is lined with limestone silt
. For a long time after it had been formed, roughly to the turn of the century, large fields of dead ice could be found on its shores, but today they have disappeared. The Lower Eissee has neither aboveground headwaters nor tailwaters.
and the Dachstein Chapel
. It was formed by the continued retreat of the glacier during the 20th century. In 1921 the ice had retreated so far that a small lake formed at its foot. This rapidly grew in size as a result of further melting until it measured about 100 x 50 metres (330 x 165 ft) and was up to 10 metres (33 ft) deep, but subsequently shrank again to only a fifth of this size due to the climate conditions. In 1951 it covered an area of 4 hectares (9.9 acre); at that time the glacier was still calving
into the lake. Since then the ice has retreated well away from the lakeshore. The Upper Eissee has now split into three smaller lakes as a result of silting up.
Dachstein Mountains
The Dachstein Mountains are a mountain range in the Alps. The term is a collective name used by the Austrian Alpine Club in categorising the Eastern Alps The Dachstein Mountains are a mountain range in the Alps. The term is a collective name used by the Austrian Alpine Club in categorising the...
in the Austrian state of Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
. They lie north of a high mountain, the Gjaidstein
Gjaidstein
The Hoher Gjaidstein is a high mountain peak in the Dachstein Mountains in Upper Austria east and above the Hallstätter Glacier. It may be reached from the summit station of the Dachstein South Face Cable Car or from the Simony Hut each of which is an easy grade I climb...
, at an elevation of around 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft).
Lower Eissee
The Lower Eissee lies at in a shallow cirqueCirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
, the Taubenkar. It was left behind by the melting of the Hallstätter Glacier
Hallstätter Glacier
The Hallstätter Glacier is the largest glacier in the Dachstein Mountains. It lies immediately beneath the northern foot of the Dachstein itself and runs down to the Eissee lake below the Simony Hut at a height of 2,205 m. To the east the Hallstätter Glacier is bounded by the High Gjaidstein...
that, until the middle of the 19th century, still extended as far as the doline
Doline
Doline can refer to:* Doline , a village in the Kanjiža municipality, Serbia.* Sinkhole, a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water....
of the upper Taubenkar. When the glacier retreated (today its snout lies at about ), the Lower Eissee was left behind in the basin, because the moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
gravel is lined with limestone silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
. For a long time after it had been formed, roughly to the turn of the century, large fields of dead ice could be found on its shores, but today they have disappeared. The Lower Eissee has neither aboveground headwaters nor tailwaters.
Upper Eissee
The Upper Eissee (Oberer Eissee) lies about 700 metres west of the Lower Eissee at a height of some below the Simony HutSimony Hut
The Simony Hut is an Alpine club hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club located at a height of 2,205 metres, just below the Hallstätter Glacier at the foot of the Hoher Dachstein in Austria...
and the Dachstein Chapel
Dachstein Chapel
The Dachstein Chapel in the Diocese of Linz is located immediately next to the Simony Hut in the Dachstein Mountains. It lies at a height of 2,206 m and is the highest place of worship in the Northern Limestone Alps. In 1925 a memorial to the Bishop of Linz, Rudolph Hittmair, was unveiled....
. It was formed by the continued retreat of the glacier during the 20th century. In 1921 the ice had retreated so far that a small lake formed at its foot. This rapidly grew in size as a result of further melting until it measured about 100 x 50 metres (330 x 165 ft) and was up to 10 metres (33 ft) deep, but subsequently shrank again to only a fifth of this size due to the climate conditions. In 1951 it covered an area of 4 hectares (9.9 acre); at that time the glacier was still calving
Ice calving
Ice calving, also known as glacier calving or iceberg calving, is a form of ice ablation or ice disruption. It is the sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier, iceberg, ice front, ice shelf, or crevasse...
into the lake. Since then the ice has retreated well away from the lakeshore. The Upper Eissee has now split into three smaller lakes as a result of silting up.