!!!Alpen
Alps (Celtic "alb" = high, "alpa" = mountains), arc-shaped mountain
chain (1,200 km long, 150-250 km wide) running from the Gulf
of Genoa to the Danube (area 220,000 km%%sup 2/%). The Austrian
part of the Alps, which takes up approximately 2/3 of Austria's total
area, comprises the largest part of the eastern Alps, as well as
northern parts of the southern Alps in the Karnische Alps and southern
Karawanken mountains; the geological border between the southern and
eastern Alps runs along the Gail Valley and through the Karawanken.
The eastern Alps in Austria are divided into the northern and central
Alps, which are separated by a line running from Klostertal Valley-
Arlberg Mountain- Inntal Valley- Salzachtal Valley to Lake Zeller
See-Wagrainer Hoehe- upper Ennstal Valley- Schober Pass- Muerztal
Alps- Semmering Mountain- southern Vienna Basin.
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As in all of the Alps, the eastern Alps contain rock of all types and
all periods, which developed into a high mountain chain through
complicated processes in Alpine mountain formation, mainly through
mantle tectonics from the Jurassic to the late Tertiary period. In
this process, the geological space of the Alps was narrowed by many
hundreds of kilometers as a result of plate tectonic processes. In
earlier geological times, erosion in the north had moved erosion
rubble towards the sea of the molasse zone in the Alpine foothills,
and in the east and south towards the Vienna and Pannonian Basins.
Finally, the Ice Age gave the Alps their present appearance.
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The predominating rock types determine the character of the landscape.
In the central Alps, which are composed of crystalline rock types and
have the highest peaks (mostly glaciated) in the west, granite and
gneiss form straight ridges, slate forms zigzag ridges, while mica
schist and quartz phyllite form more gentle shapes. In the northern
Alps the Paleozoic slates of the Greywacke zone are characterised
(from south to north) by the Alpine pasture and forest soils, which
are joined to the north by the Northern Limestone Alps, with their
high limestone plateaus and limestone Pre-alps in the northeast, which
gradually take on a richly forested, low-mountain character. The
Flysch zone, rich in sandstone, then forms the end of the Alps toward
the Alpine Foreland.
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Grossglockner peak (3797 m), Austria's highest mountain, and the
20 km%%sup 2/% Pasterze glacier are both in the Hohe Tauern. In
addition to that, there are almost 1,000 glaciers in Austria and
around 860 peaks over 3,000 m, around half of which are in the Oetztal
and Stubai Alps (e.g. Wildspitze 3,774 m, Zuckerhuetl
3,507 m).
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The Alps also form an important climatic divide and watershed. Due to
strong westerly winds, the western and northern edges of the Alps are
predominantly influenced by the Atlantic climate with its heavy
precipitation, while the eastern part of the Alps is under the
influence of the dry, Pannonian inland climate of Hungary and the
southern slopes are characterised by the mild Mediterranean climate.
In the peripheral zones and higher altitudes, precipitation is heavier
(2,000-3,000 mm) than in the inner Alps and in the East. Some
valleys and basins are decidedly dry. The frequency and amount of
precipitation rise with the altitude up to around 2,400-2,800 m
then begin to decline at higher altitudes. "Cold-air lakes" with
temperature Inversion can be found in closed-off Alpine basins in the
interior.
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The highest grain farming line is located in the Hohe Tauern at
1,524 m; winemaking is common at the eastern edge of the Alps
Alpenostrand, and maize and fine fruits are grown in foehn areas. The
agricultural zone is followed by the deciduous and mixed forest zone
(beech, Austrian pine and others), followed by the coniferous forest
zone (spruce, fir, larch, Swiss stone pine), the 200-300 m wide
knee timber belt (dwarf pine, green alder) and then the Alpine
pastures. The forest line is at an altitude of 1400-1970 m, the
treeline at 1,500-2,100 m. Between 2,700 and 2,900 m,
glaciers ( Glacier) begin to appear.
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The Alps are rich in passes and crossings. The longitudinal valleys
are generally broad and open, creating favourable circumstances for
settlement, business and transport (Salzach River-Ennstal Valley
furrow, Drautal Valley), while the cross valleys are more narrow and
more difficult to settle in. One important transport line is the Mur
River - Muerz River furrow connecting Vienna- Semmering mountain-
Muerz- Mur- Klagenfurt Basin and on to Northern Italy.
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While tourism dominates the economies of the western region, the
Greywacke zone of the Eastern Alps, which runs east towards Semmering
Pass and contains iron ore, has been utilized for iron and steel
production. In the high valleys, timber processing and animal
husbandry are dominant.
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The admiration of the beauty of the Alps and the development of Alpine
tourism began in the 19th century in the early stages of
Mountaineering and Skiing. Tourism (biseasonal, mainly in winter) has
developed into the most important sector of the economy in the Alpine
region.
!Further reading
W. Baetzing (ed.), Die Alpen im Europa der 90er
Jahre, 1991; R. Oberhauser (ed.), Der geologische Aufbau Oesterreichs,
1980; A. Tollmann, Geologie von Oesterreich, 3 vols., 1977-1986;
D. Bartsch, Alpen und Alpenvorland, 1988.
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