Geography of Austria
This article describes the geography of Austria . Austria is a country in Central Europe , located southeast of Germany and south of the Czech Republic . The land area of Austria is around 83,879 square kilometers. The highest point is the Großglockner at 3798 meters.
physical geography
Large landscapes
Austria comprises three basic natural areas, which can be understood as follows from a general geographical perspective:
- Foreland and rim-alpine basins
- These plains and hilly lands make up around a third of the most important settlement areas in Austria. They are divided into:
- Alpine and Carpathian foothills , namely Salzburg- Upper Austrian Alpine foothills with the Hausruck hill range and Lower Austrian Alpine foothills with the Tullnerfeld , these are the shares of the Alpine foothills and the Waschbergzone , the shares of the Carpathian foothills (9,500 km² , 11.3%)
- Vienna Basin with the Marchfeld , and small parts of the small Hungarian lowlands (3,700 km², 4.4%)
- South-eastern Alpine foothills , the peripheral areas to the main part of the Pannonian lowlands (9,500 km², 11.3%)
- Gneiss and granite highlands
- The granite and gneiss plateau lies north of the Danube and is the Austrian share of the Bohemian mass (8,500 km², 10.1%)
- Austrian Alps
- That is Austria's share of the Alps . The mountain zone of Austria covers almost two thirds of the country and lies entirely in the Eastern Alps , with about two thirds of this mountain range in Austria. (52,600 km², 62.8% of the national area)
The Austrian Alps can be roughly divided into:
- Northern Alps , Central Alps and Southern Alps (although the Austrian part of this mountain range is quite small)
- According to large mountain groups: The most important large groups are the high mountains on the main Alpine ridge , especially the Tyrolean Central Alps , Hohe Tauern and Niedere Tauern , as well as the northern and southern Limestone Alps , the Grauwackenzone and several peripheral mountains, especially the Flysch Zone ( Bregenzerwald , Wienerwald ) and the Styrian peripheral mountains
- Embedded in the mountain ranges of the Alps are the longitudinal valley furrows - mainly from the Inn , Salzach , Enns , Mur / Mürz and Drau - and the Rhine valley , as well as the inner-alpine basins , especially the Klagenfurt basin . They form the main settlement areas in the Austrian Alpine zone
Orography
Of the total area of Austria (according to the latest investigations 83,878.99 km² ) only 32% are deeper than 500 m, but 40% are over 1000 m.
- lowest point: Hedwighof (municipality of Apetlon , Burgenland ), 114 m above sea level. A.
- highest point: Großglockner (Carinthia / East Tyrol) 3798 m above sea level. A.
mountains
The 35 highest mountains in Austria are:
(All altitude data refer to the Trieste 1875 gauge used in Austria - meters above the Adriatic Sea )
Rivers
Most of Austria, 80,566 km², is drained via the Danube to the Black Sea , only small areas via the Rhine (2,366 km²) or the Elbe (918 km²) to the North Sea .
Major tributaries of the Danube are (from east to west):
- The Drau , which drains Carinthia and East Tyrol eastwards. It flows through Slovenia and flows into the Danube in Croatia . The catchment area of the Drau marks the southern side of the Alps in Austria, i.e. the areas south of the main Alpine ridge that no longer belong to the Atlantic area of influence, but are assigned to the Illyrian climate province
- The Gurk in Carinthia
- In Croatia, the Drau also takes in the Mur , which drains Styria and the Salzburg Lungau , to the Mur the Mürz flows from southern Lower Austria - the two rivers form the Mur-Mürz furrow in the upper reaches , the Mur then turns southwards and towards the Mur (along) the southern state border to the east.
The Danube tributaries of the Pannonian Alps and the granite and gneiss highlands are:
- The Raab of Eastern Styria , in Hungary to the Danube
- The Leitha drains southern Lower Austria and northern Burgenland via Hungary.
- The Thaya covers north-eastern Lower Austria ( Waldviertel , Weinviertel ), only eastwards and is the border river to the Czech Republic . At Hohenau , at the main boundary stone XI / 6 at 147.5 m above sea level. A. the Thaya flows into the March, which is the border river to Slovakia to the south .
- The Kamp also comes from the Waldviertel .
The following flows are the major North Alpine rivers to northern Alpenvorland by the Atlantic northern barrier layers are characterized:
- The Enns drains the Salzburg Ennspongau, the northern edge of Styria and the south-east of Upper Austria , in the upper reaches it forms the eastern end of the Salzach-Enns long valley furrow and then pierces the Northern Limestone Alps
- The Traun , the river of the Salzkammergut
- The Inn : It comes from Switzerland , crosses Tyrol, and then flows into Bavaria - in the lower reaches it is the border river to Upper Austria. It is the most water-rich tributary of the Danube in Austria.
The Rhine , which drains most of Vorarlberg, comes from Switzerland, forms the border, and leaves Austria in Lake Constance . It flows into the North Sea . For catchment area Rhine belongs to the majority of Vorarlberg .
The Lainsitz and the Kettenbach are not important because of their size, but they are the only larger Austrian streams that drain over the Czech Republic to the Elbe and thus to the North Sea. The Elbe catchment area includes the Gmünd area in the Waldviertel and small areas on the northern edge of the Mühlviertel .
Lakes
The largest lake is the Neusiedler See in Burgenland, which is in Austria with approx. 77% of its total area of 315 km², followed by the Attersee with 46 km² and the Traunsee with 24 km² in Upper Austria. Even the large Lake Constance with its 536 km² in the border triangle with Germany and Switzerland is to a small extent on Austrian territory. However, the state borders within Lake Constance are not precisely defined.
In addition to the mountains , the lakes are of the greatest importance for summer tourism in Austria , especially the Carinthian lakes and those of the Salzkammergut . The best known are the Wörthersee , the Millstätter See , the Ossiacher See and the Weißensee . Other well-known lakes are Mondsee and Wolfgangsee on the border between Salzburg and Upper Austria. The Zeller See in Salzburg and the Achensee in Tyrol are also to be mentioned as large alpine lakes .
see also: List of lakes in Austria
climate
The climate in Austria can be classified according to the descriptive classification of the humid- warm temperate zone . In the west and north of Austria there is an oceanic climate , often characterized by humid westerly winds . In the east, on the other hand, a more Pannonian- continental climate with little precipitation with hot summers and cold winters predominates . The influence of low- pressure areas with heavy rainfall from the Mediterranean area is particularly noticeable in the Southern Alps .
In fact, the regional climate of Austria is strongly influenced by the alpine topography. There are often considerable climatic differences within short distances and slight differences in altitude. With increasing altitude, boreal and tundra climates are initially encountered, and even polar climates in the summit areas. Not only the main Alpine ridge acts as a climatic divide . Sun- rich Föhntal valleys (e.g. Inntal ) contrast with fog-prone basin landscapes (e.g. Klagenfurt Basin), mountain rims with high rainfall (e.g. Bregenzerwald) contrast with inner-alpine dry valleys (e.g. Ötztal Alps ).
Air temperature
The total range of the annual mean air temperature in Austria extends from over 11 ° C in the inner districts of Vienna to below –9 ° C on the summit of the Grossglockner. In the densely populated lowlands it is mostly between 8 and 10 ° C. The area average is 6.0 ° C. The annual mean zero degree isotherm is at an altitude of about 2200 m. In closed basins, valleys and hollows below 800 to 1200 m above sea level, temperature increases with altitude often occur in the winter months ( temperature inversion ).
While in most of Austria January and July are on average the coldest and warmest months of the year, in the high mountains it is February and August. The long-term January mean air temperature in the flat landscapes of the east is between 0 ° and –2 ° C and drops between –4 ° and –6 ° C at around 1000 m above sea level. The lowest value in the area of the highest peaks is around –15 ° C. In July, the long-term mean values fluctuate between 18 and 20 ° C in the east and between 13 and 15 ° C in 1000 m. On the Grossglockner, the average zero degree limit is not exceeded even in midsummer.
Precipitation
With the frequent west to north-west locations, the Bregenzerwald and the entire Northern Limestone Alps are to the windward . The same applies to the southern border of Austria, which receives intense stagnant precipitation when it flows in from the Mediterranean area . Together with the central alpine Hohe Tauern, the measured annual precipitation totals in the regions mentioned reach a long-term average of around 2000 mm , in some cases around 3000 mm. In contrast, the eastern Waldviertel, Weinviertel, Vienna Basin and Northern Burgenland receive less than 600 mm of precipitation over the course of a year. As the place with the lowest rainfall in Austria, Retz can be named with just under 450 mm.
The average area in Austria is around 1100 mm for the year. The summer half-year (April to September) accounts for slightly more than 60% of the annual total, and the winter half-year (October to March) accordingly a little less than 40%. This distribution of precipitation proves to be very favorable in terms of vegetation development. While in the vast majority of the country the wettest month due to convection (showers and thunderstorms) falls in June or July, the Carinthian Lesach Valley is the only exception: With a primary precipitation maximum in October, it is part of the Mediterranean precipitation climate.
The abundance of snow depends mainly on the altitude and the location of the area in relation to the main flow directions and varies accordingly. While the average annual snowfall in Austria is around 3.3 m of fresh snow, it is only 0.3 m at Krems and 22 m at the Sonnblick .
Political geography
Federal states
The nine Austrian federal states are divided into 95 districts , 15 of which are statutory cities . The districts in turn are divided into municipalities .
state | Capital | population | Area in km² |
Population density in [E./km²] |
Communities | including cities |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Burgenland | Eisenstadt | 284,900 | 3,961.80 | 71.91 | 171 | 13 |
2. | Carinthia | Klagenfurt | 558,300 | 9,538.01 | 58.53 | 132 | 17th |
3. | Lower Austria | St. Polten | 1,612,000 | 19,186.26 | 84.02 | 573 | 78 |
4th | Upper Austria | Linz | 1,412,700 | 11,979.91 | 117.92 | 440 | 32 |
5. | Salzburg | Salzburg | 531,800 | 7,156.03 | 74.31 | 119 | 10 |
6th | Styria | Graz | 1,210,700 | 16,401.04 | 73.82 | 542 | 34 |
7th | Tyrol | innsbruck | 710.100 | 12,640.17 | 56.18 | 279 | 11 |
8th. | Vorarlberg | Bregenz | 370,800 | 2,601.12 | 142.55 | 96 | 5 |
9. | Vienna | Vienna | 1,714,200 | 414.65 | 4,134.09 | 1 | 1 |
Cities
By far the largest settlement area in Austria is the metropolitan region of Vienna with a population of 2,067,652 (as of January 1, 2005) . A quarter of the country's population is thus concentrated in the capital region. In Austria, 203 own communities , the town charter . A major problem, especially in economically weak areas, is the migration ( rural exodus ) of the rural population to urban areas.
For a list of all cities as well as the largest cities and metropolitan areas, see: List of cities in Austria
Exclaves and enclaves
The Kleinwalsertal is located on Austrian territory and belongs to Vorarlberg , but according to the topography it is a so-called functional exclave of Austria and an enclave of Germany, as it can only be reached via federal German territory or Bavarian roads. Further functional exclaves are the community of Jungholz , which only touches the rest of the national territory at one point at the 1636 m high Sorgschrofen , and the Riss valley ; both exclaves are in Tyrol and are also enclaves of Germany and Bavaria.
A formerly functional enclave of Austria was the Swiss municipality of Samnaun , which for a long time could only be reached by road via Tyrol . This geographical connection once led the inhabitants to give up their Romansh mother tongue in the 19th century in favor of a Bavarian dialect similar to neighboring Tyrol. There is now a road to Samnaun that runs exclusively on Swiss territory, but the duty-free zone that was once established still exists . The Tyrolean community of Spiss in the border area with Switzerland had a similar status until 1980 , and for a long time it was only accessible via Samnaun. Due to its location, the place had little economic development and many of its residents migrated in search of a job.
Limits, distances, extreme points
Lengths of the borders with 8 neighboring states in total 2706 km a b (the national administrative units counterclockwise):
- 816 km - Germany : State of Bavaria
- 430 km - border between Italy and Austria : regions Trentino-South Tyrol , Veneto , Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- 356 km - Hungary : Vas counties , Győr-Moson-Sopron
- 466 km - Czech Republic : Jihomoravský kraj ("South Moravia"), Jihočeský kraj ("South Bohemia")
- 330 km - Slovenia : Regij c Gorenjska ("Upper Carniola"), Savinjska , Koroška ("Lower Carinthia"), Podravska , Pomurska
- 166 km - Switzerland : Cantons of Graubünden , St. Gallen ( see also: border between Austria and Switzerland )
- 107 km - Slovakia : Bratislavský kraj ("Pressburg"), Trnavský kraj ("Tyrnau")
- 35 km - Liechtenstein
- a Article state borders in the Austria Lexicon
- b The neighboring countries share Lake Constance . An exact boundary course is not specified. Therefore the length of the boundary line cannot be determined exactly
- c Statistical regions: Slovenia does not yet have an administrative structure that is comparable to the NUTS levels of the federal states
Since Liechtenstein is surrounded by Austria and Switzerland, Austria has nine triangles , making it the country with the most triangles in Europe.
Distances (beeline)
- Vienna - Bregenz 501 km
- Vienna - Innsbruck 385 km
- Vienna - Salzburg 251 km
- Vienna - Linz 155 km
- Vienna - Graz 145 km
- Vienna - Bratislava (SK) 35 miles
- Salzburg - Munich (D) 116 km
- Vienna - Berlin (D) 524 km
- Vienna - Budapest (H) 216 km
- Bregenz - Paris (F) 569 km
- Villach - Trieste ( Mediterranean ) (I) 107 km
- Graz - Maribor (SLO) 60.1 km
Austria extends a maximum of 577 km in a west-east direction, and over 296 km in a north-south direction.
The outermost border points of Austria are:
- northernmost point: altitude ~ 500 m above sea level A. 49 ° 1 ′ 14.5 ″ N , 15 ° 1 ′ 14.8 ″ E , near the former Peršlák barracks - next place: Rottal (approx. 1 km southeast)
- südlichster point: height ~ 2030 m 46 ° 22 '19.7 " N , 14 ° 33' 48.6" O near the Savinjske saddle , between Mrzla gora , Vellacher Baba / Fraunberg and Ceska koča , south of the Seebergsattel ( reserve Vellacher Kotschna ) - next place: Eisenkappel (13 km north)
- Easternmost point: triangle with Slovakia and Hungary 133 m 48 ° 0 ′ 24.1 ″ N , 17 ° 9 ′ 38.7 ″ E - next town: Deutsch Jahrndorf (4 km west)
- westernmost point: border triangle with Liechtenstein and Switzerland , in the Rhine ~ 440 m 47 ° 16 ′ 14.1 ″ N , 9 ° 31 ′ 50.8 ″ E - next place: Bangs bei Nofels (1 km east) or Rüthi ( 1 km north) with border crossing 200 m north; Feldkirch (6 km southeast)
Center:
- as the geographical center of the city was in 1949 Bad Aussee in Styria , where a "center of Stone" is since 1989th
- According to more recent calculations, however, the center is 25 km east of it, in the municipality of Stainach-Pürgg , about 800 m north of the Bärenfeuchtmölbing summit at an altitude of 1380 m above sea level. A. at 47.59397 ° N , 14.12456 ° O
- most distant from the border point: at the entrance of Gesaeuse , in the municipality of Admont at 47.5783 ° N , 14.5525 ° O , 109 km from the border
literature
- Ingeborg Auer u. a .: ÖKLIM - Austria's Digital Climate Atlas. In: Christa Hammerl u. a. (Ed.): The Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics 1851–2001. Leykam, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-7011-7437-7 .
- Max H. Fink, Otto Moog, Reinhard Wimmer: River Natural Areas of Austria. Umweltbundesamt, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-85457-558-0 (= Monographs Volume 128).
- Johann Hiebl u. a .: Multi-methodical realization of Austrian climate maps for 1971–2000. In: Advances in Science & Research. No. 6, 2010, pp. 19-26, doi: 10.5194 / asr-6-19-2011 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Community initiative LEADER + programming document Austria. Structural Funds 2000-2006. Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. Approved March 26, 2001 K (2001) 820 ( web document , pdf 1.1 MB)
- ↑ Fink, Moog, Wimmer: watercourses-natural areas 6.1 The main regions , p 26ff
- ↑ Statistics Austria (Ed.): Statistisches Jahrbuch 2011 . 37 Regional data for Austria in NUTS breakdown 37.01 Breakdown of Austria in NUTS units, territorial status 1 January 2010 , p. 506 , col. Area km² ( pdf Chap. 37 Regional data for Austria in NUTS classification , statistik.at [accessed on July 7, 2011] In the 2009 yearbook, 83,871.97 were stated there).
- ↑ a b c Ingeborg Auer u. a .: ÖKLIM - Austria's Digital Climate Atlas. In: Christa Hammerl u. a. (Ed.): The Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics 1851–2001. Leykam, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-7011-7437-7 .
- ↑ a b c d Johann Hiebl u. a .: Multi-methodical realization of Austrian climate maps for 1971–2000. In: Advances in Science & Research. No. 6, 2010, pp. 19-26, doi: 10.5194 / asr-6-19-2011 .
- ↑ Entry on Austria, Republic in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- ↑ a b Geographical centers of Austria and the federal states . In: ppete.de , accessed on August 20, 2019.