Śnieżne Kotły are two glacial cirque

Cirque

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...

s in the western Krkonoše mountains (Giant Mountains), situated in the Karkonosze National Park

Karkonosze National Park

The Karkonosze National Park is a National Park in the Karkonosze Mountains in southwestern Poland.The park is located in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, along the border with the Czech Republic. It was created in 1959 to cover an area of 55.10 km²; today it is slightly larger at , of which 17.18 km²...

 on the Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 side of the border. They are a unique example of the alpine landscape in the area and have been a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 since 1933.

Description

The walls of both cirques are about 100 metres (328.1 ft) high and contain small tarn

Tarn (lake)

A tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...

 lakes. They were formed during the last phase of the glacial period and consist predominantly of 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...

. However, in two exposed places basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

 was found (apparently of volcanic origin), which is quite rare in this part of Central Europe. Some rare species of arctic and alpine plants appear in the cold and dark parts of the cirques: Pulsatilla alpina

Pulsatilla alpina

Pulsatilla alpina, alpine pasqueflower, or alpine anemone is an alpine plant found in the mountain ranges of central and southern Europe from central Spain to Croatia...

, Gentiana asclepiadea

Gentiana asclepiadea

Gentiana asclepiadea is a species of the genus Gentiana. It is native to central and eastern Europe from primarily mountain woodland though it does occur in less wooded open pasture in some areas, perhaps persisting after woodland clearance.One of the larger species within the genus, it produces...

, Aconitum napellus

Aconitum napellus

Aconitum napellus is a species of Aconitum in the family Ranunculaceae, native and endemic to western and central Europe....

, and the only place in Europe, where Saxifraga nivalis

Saxifraga nivalis

Saxifraga nivalis is a species of saxifrage. It is commonly called Snow Saxifrage or "alpine saxifrage".Found on irrigated rocks or open vegetation in shaded sites, often on mountain ledges and crags with base rich substratum. This species is not very tolerant of competition and so is found in...

 appears. At the top of the larger cirque, at the Łabski Szczyt

Łabski Szczyt

Łabski Szczyt or Violík is a mountain peak located in the western Karkonosze on the Czech-Polish border. The source of the River Elbe , one of Europe's major rivers, is situated on the southern slopes of the mountain.- Situation :In the main range the very distinct peak is situated between...

, there is a radio and television tower.

Hiking and Climbing

It is possible to climb the cirque walls, though climbing is permitted only in January and February and dangerous; since World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 there has been ten fatal accidents. Hiking is possible; the Main Sudety Trail

Główny Szlak Sudecki

Główny Szlak Sudecki – public hiking trail in Poland running along the Sudetes. The total length of this route is 350 km and the approximate time to cover it varies between 87 and 90 hours. The trail was constructed in 1947 and throughout its history has been several times modified...

 as well as the Polish - Czech Friendship Trail run along the upper ridge of the cirques, close to the abyss. Two mountain huts, Pod Śmielcem and Pod Łabskim Szczytem, are located in the area.