Limestone Alps
Encyclopedia
The Limestone Alps are the two mountain range
s, roughly 600 kilometres (372.8 mi) long, which run parallel to the main mountain range of the Austrian Central Alps and to its north and south. They are known as the (Northern
and Southern Limestone Alps
respectively.
The best-known mountain groups in the Limestone Alps are:
The mountain and hill profiles
of the Limestone Alps are very varied and range from jagged peaks and rock faces to high plateaus and extensive areas of karst
. They are of economic importance, not least because they are sources of drinking water
and have many accessible dripstone and ice cave
s.
Whilst the central Alps are mainly composed of crystalline rock (granite
, gneiss
) or slate
(the High Tauern), the Limestone Alps are made of lighter and more porous rock. In addition to limestone
, they contain dolomite
, marl
, sandstone
and the like.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s, roughly 600 kilometres (372.8 mi) long, which run parallel to the main mountain range of the Austrian Central Alps and to its north and south. They are known as the (Northern
Northern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition...
and Southern Limestone Alps
Southern Limestone Alps
The Southern Limestone Alps are the ranges of the Eastern Alps south of the Central Eastern Alps mainly located in northern Italy and the adjacent lands of Austria and Slovenia. The distinction from the Central Alps, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological...
respectively.
The best-known mountain groups in the Limestone Alps are:
- in the north the RätikonRätikonThe Rätikon is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps located at the border between Vorarlberg, Liechtenstein and Graubünden. It is the geological border between the Eastern and Western Alps and stretches from the Montafon as far as the Rhine. In the south, the Prättigau is its limit, in the...
, WettersteinWettersteinThe Wetterstein, is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is a compact range between Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Seefeld in Tirol and Ehrwald; partially in Bavaria, Germany and partially in Tyrol, Austria...
, Wilder Kaiser, Steinberge, Dachstein massif, Totes GebirgeTotes GebirgeThe Totes Gebirge is a group of mountains in Austria, part of the Northern Limestone Alps, lying between the Salzkammergut and the Ennstaler Alpen. The name Totes Gebirge is derived from the German words tot meaning "dead", referring to the apparent lack of vegetation, and Gebirge meaning "mountain...
, Gesäuse, HochschwabHochschwabThe Hochschwab is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria....
and the local Vienna mountains, the RaxRaxThe Rax is a mountain range at the border of the Austrian federal provinces Lower Austria and Styria, situated in the Northern Limestone Alps....
and the SchneebergSchneeberg (Alps)The Schneeberg, with its 2076 m-high summit Klosterwappen, is the highest mountain of Lower Austria, and the easternmost 2000 m-high mountain in the Alps. It is a distinctive limestone massif with steep slopes on three sides.... - in the south, the DolomitesDolomitesThe Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
, Carnic AlpsCarnic AlpsThe Carnic Alps are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in East Tyrol, Carinthia, South Tyrol and Friuli . They extend from east to west for about between the Gail River, a tributary of the Drava and the Tagliamento, forming the border between Austria and Italy.They are named after the Roman...
and Karavanken.
The mountain and hill profiles
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
of the Limestone Alps are very varied and range from jagged peaks and rock faces to high plateaus and extensive areas of karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
. They are of economic importance, not least because they are sources of drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and have many accessible dripstone and ice cave
Ice cave
The term ice cave refers to any type of natural cave that contains significant amounts of perennial ice...
s.
Whilst the central Alps are mainly composed of crystalline rock (granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
) or slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
(the High Tauern), the Limestone Alps are made of lighter and more porous rock. In addition to limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, they contain dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
, sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and the like.