Saualpe#

Saualpe Mountains, Carinthia, rolling mountain range of the Central Alps consisting of gneiss and mica with a straight ridge running in a north-south direction which separates the Lavant valley from the rest of Carinthia, primarily from the Goertschitz valley. The Saualpe Mountains become the Seetal Alps in the north on the Styrian border and run into the Slovene mixed-language area in the south; Ladinger Spitz mountain (2,079 m). Mostly uniform mountain range with little traffic; forests are located on the slopes, and alpine pastures are located at higher altitudes (in the summer the Alpine pastures provide grazing land for the cattle form the Klagenfurt basin). Mineral resources on the edge of the northern portion: iron ore in the west ( Huettenberg), carbonate sources in the east (Preblau), lignite deposits on both sides. Klippitztoerl ski resort. In the south the fortified churches at an altitude of approximately ca. 1,000 m provided a continuous line of defence from Hochfeistritz in the west, to Diex, Grafenbach, Woelfnitz and Pustritz on the south-eastern slope of the massif. Passes: in the north Klippitztoerl (1,644 m) with the Klippitztoerl mountain refuge, over the south-eastern foothills, the Griffener Berg Pass (708 m) with the Klagenfurt- Lavant valley route and the A 2 (Suedautobahn) motorway. Mountain refuges: Wolfsberger refuge (1,827 m), Ofnerhuette refuge (1,668 m), Reisberger Halt refuge (1,476 m).