Traun Gorge

Traun Gorge (Inner / Middle Traun)
	Traun Gorge at the Traunfall
location	Northern Alpine Foreland , Upper Austria
Waters	Traun
Geographical location	48 ° 2 ' N , 13 ° 49' E Coordinates: 48 ° 2 ' N , 13 ° 49' E
height	420 to 360 m above sea level A.
length	approx. 21 km
surface	approx. 8 km²

The Traun Gorge is a section of the Traun valley on the edge of the Alps in Upper Austria . It is located in the Traunviertel , on the northeastern edge of the Salzkammergut .

The Traun Gorge is the smallest of the 41 Upper Austrian spatial units .

geography

Spatial units: Traun Gorge (TS) , in the southern center of Upper Austria

The Traun Gorge encompasses that part of the Traun, which is also known as the Inner or Middle Traun , in contrast to the Outer or Lower Traun downstream to the mouth, the inner-alpine Upper Traun in the Salzkammergut is structured in many ways. In fishing circles, the part of the Traun from Gmunden to below the Traunfall is also known as the Gmundner Traun .

Location and landscape

The valley extends in the foothills of the Alps for around 21.5 km from the Traunsee near Gmunden to the confluence of the Ager near Stadl-Paura and Lambach . Here the Traun bends from its previous north-facing course towards the northeast, and then flows through the pre-alpine hill country towards Linz.

Here in the Ager-Traun-Terrassenland area, the Traun cut into a narrow valley up to 30 meters deep . The highest area of the area is north of the Traunsee at around 420 m above sea level. A. , the deepest area is around 360 m above sea level. A. at Stadl-Paura, while the surrounding terraced land is up to 450 m above sea level. A. raises. The Traunfall, a good 10 meter high, is located roughly in the middle of the valley . The valley area only widens at the mouth of the Ager , but is counted as part of the Traun Gorge spatial unit up to the Lambach municipal boundary near Edt .

Boundary areas

The spatial unit is surrounded by the following Upper Austrian spatial units (clockwise, starting in the north): Inn- and Hausruckviertler Hügelland , Unteres Trauntal , Ager-Traun-Terrassen , Salzkammergut-Talungen and Vöckla-Agertal . The room unit lies almost entirely in the middle of the room unit Ager-Traun-Terrassen and divides it.

Communities

The spatial unit lies in the districts of Gmunden , Vöcklabruck and Wels-Land .

Only the municipal area of Stadl-Paura lies predominantly or entirely in the Traun Gorge . Desselbrunn , Gmunden , Gschwandt , Laakirchen , Lambach , Ohlsdorf , Pinsdorf and Rüstorf also have shares (in alphabetical order) . Except for the local areas Stadl-Paura and Gmunden and the Traun-right bank areas of Lambach, the Traun forms the municipal boundary of these communities.

Geology and hydrography

The pre-alpine area was lifted here by tectonic uplift above the level of the alpine foothills. Here , the Traun cuts through both the Helvetic and the sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic and Lower Chalk Sea Tethys on the northern edge of the Alps (Helvetic window of Ohlsdorf), the Flysch , the deep-sea sediments of the younger Paratethys (near Ohlsdorf), the Schlier sediments of the Tertiary Molasse Sea (near Lambach ), as well as the ice age deposits of the Traungletscher in their variety of cover and advancing gravel, dam sediments, boulder clay of the ground moraine and interglacial warm-age soil formations: here there are good outcrops of all four main glaciers ( Günz , Mindel , Riss and Würm ). The recent outcrop ( Holocene / Postglacial), which was flooded before the regulation of the Traun, is only historical due to the recent deepening and removal of gravel from the river, it is up to 6 m above today's average water level near Lambach.

Except for the hard construction and several power plants ( Gmunden , Danzermühl / Laakirchen, Kohlwehr / Ohlsdorf, Steyrermühl , Gschröff / Ohlsdorf, Siebenbrunn , Traunfall , Kemating ) the valley is characterized by the preserved meanders of the Traun. About half of the course still has free flow stretches. The Traunfall is still partially preserved in spite of the local power station, only remnants of the old bypass channel for the rafting (fall canal) from the 16th century remain. In the course of the valley, some spring horizons are cut and form small streams and pools. The waterless stream at Gschwandt and Gmunden seeps into its own gravel bed.

Spatial planning characteristics

The Traun flows here through a narrow, deeply cut valley area, partly like a canyon-like gorge .
The spatial unit has some power plant dams that impair the free flow path. Nevertheless, it was possible to maintain the natural gradient at the Traunfall power plant . Renaturation is currently taking place (ponds and fish ladders ).
The Traun has a good water quality in this area and has many near-natural bank structures with isolated meander loops . The gravel banks are small and mostly natural. Small sources can be found here and there.
Abundant fish fauna, important grayling waters and abundance of bird species.
Small remnants of softwood meadows and pioneer willow bushes exist. Spruce forests predominate , but near-natural forest areas ( ash forests and beech forests ) also grow on conglomerate partial waste.
Exposed conglomerate rocks, partly overhanging, and larger boulders can be found in the Traun.
From Stadl-Paura the area expands. This widening area is both naturally forested and densely built up. This is also the backwater area of the Lambach power plant.

structure

The Traun Gorge is divided into two sub-units, on the one hand into the narrow valley (the Traun river and alluvial forest area) and on the other hand the expanded valley area (settlement area).

literature

Office of the Upper Austrian Provincial Government, Nature Conservation Department (Ed.): Nature and Landscape / Guiding Principles for Upper Austria. Volume 5: Traun Gorge spatial unit . Linz 2007 ( pdf [accessed on February 18, 2017]).

Web links

Map of the Traunschlucht spatial unit. In: DORIS . Retrieved November 30, 2014 .
Traun Gorge. In: Nature and Landscape in Upper Austria. Retrieved November 30, 2014 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c lit. Upper Austrian state government (Hrsg.): Nature and landscape: Traunschlucht . Linz 2007, characteristics of the spatial unit: A2 location and boundaries , p. 10 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e lit. Nature and landscape: Traunschlucht . Linz 2007, location factors: A5.1 Geology A5.2 Soil and A5.4 Water system , p. 17th ff .

[NaLa_A2-1] t. Upper Austrian state government (Hrsg.): Nature and landscape: Traunschlucht . Linz 2007, characteristics of the spatial unit: A2 location and boundaries , p. 10 .

[NaLa_A5-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e lit. Nature and landscape: Traunschlucht . Linz 2007, location factors: A5.1 Geology A5.2 Soil and A5.4 Water system , p. 17th ff .