Central Eastern Alps

Central Alps (Central Eastern Alps)
	Geological structure of the Alps: ; The Central Alps are formed from the crystalline Eastern Alps and a few windows, regional ceilings and islands
Highest peak	Piz Bernina (*) ( 4049 m above sea level )
location	Switzerland , Liechtenstein , Austria , Italy , Slovenia
part of	Eastern Alps
Coordinates	47 ° N , 13 ° E Coordinates: 47 ° N , 13 ° E
rock	predominantly crystalline ( orthogneiss , paragneiss , mica slate )
Age of the rock	predominantly pre-Permian (> 290 million years)
particularities	(*)according to AVE no part of the Central Eastern Alps ; the highest peak after AVE would be the Großglockner ( 3798 m above sea level )

The Central Alps , also Central Eastern Alps , form the main Alpine ridge of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the neighboring regions of Switzerland , Liechtenstein , Italy and Slovenia . The term Central Alps is primarily used in the geography of Austria , where the Austrian part of the mountain group represents one of the seven basic large landscapes of the country, and geology, where it represents the zone of the old crystalline basement of the Eastern Alps ( Central Eastern Alps ). One speaks of the Central Eastern Alps in particular in the context of the Alpine Club division of the Eastern Alps (AVE). The Central Alps form the eastern part of the main Alpine ridge, the central chain of the Alps, including the chains that run parallel to the north and south.

The Central Alps as a large Austrian landscape

In Austria, the Eastern Alps are divided into the Northern Alps , the Grauwackenzone , the Central Alps and the Southern Alps . The latter are in southern Carinthia , but mainly in northern Italy .

The central and northern Alps are separated by the northern long valley furrow , consisting of the lines Klostertal - Arlberg - Inntal (to Wörgl ) and Salzachtal to Schwarzach im Pongau - Wagrainer Höhe - upper Ennstal - Schoberpass - Mürz Valley Alps - Semmering - southern Vienna Basin .

The central and southern Alps are separated from each other by the southern longitudinal valley range Pustertal ( Rienztal - Toblacher Feld - upper Drautal) - Drautal - Klagenfurt basin - Mieß / Meza, or the periadriatic seam , which is not completely congruent with the longitudinal valley furrow, but runs through the Gail valley .

geomorphology

They have the highest peaks in the Eastern Alps and are the most heavily glaciated . In the transition from the Eastern and Western Alps, their peaks clearly tower above the surroundings to the west ( Piz d'Err , Piz Roseg ). On the edge, however, there are also less high, often gentle mountain ranges, such as the Gurktal Alps and the eastern foothills.

The Eastern Alps are separated from the Western Alps by a line from Lake Constance - Rhine - Splügen Pass - Lake Como .

geology

The central Eastern Alps consist mainly of gneisses and crystalline slates , some of which are clearly pre- Permian protoliths. These are interpreted as the basement or as equivalents of the basement of the Permo - Mesozoic sedimentary units of the Northern Limestone Alps. The metamorphosis of these rocks took place partly pre-Alpid (with Alpid overprinting), partly only Alpid. Like the Eastern Alps as a whole, the central Eastern Alps are also divided into ceiling units . A distinction is made here between the tectonically deepest and the tectonically highest three large nappe complexes: the Lower Eastern Alps , the Lower Central Eastern Alps (formerly "Middle Eastern Alps ") and the Upper Central Eastern Alps (including the Grauwackenzone ), with the Central Eastern Alps and Northern Limestone Alps being grouped under the term Upper Eastern Alps . From the outcrop area, the Central Eastern Alpine clearly dominates over the Lower Eastern Alpine. In addition to the basement rocks, the central Eastern Alps also have Permo-Mesozoic overburden , which is considered to be the equivalent of the units of the Northern Limestone Alps. These include the Engadine Dolomites , the so-called Brennermesozoikum (named after the Brenner Pass ), the Drauzug and the Mesozoic of the Northern Karawanken . In contrast to the unmetamorphic Northern Limestone Alps, however, the Mesozoic of the central Eastern Alps is slightly to moderately metamorphic.

The Eastern Alpine ceilings are pushed onto the Penninic that emerges in the Lower Engadine window and in the Tauern window . There are sub-eastern Alpine rocks together with oceanic sediments and relics of oceanic crust in the border zone from the Penninic to the Lower Eastern Alpine ( Matreier Zone, Aroser Zone). They attest to the paleogeographical transition from the Piedmont-Ligurian Ocean (Penninic) to the Adriatic continental block (Eastern Alpine).

On the eastern edge of the Alps, the Northern Limestone Alps and the Central Eastern Alps plunge under the Cenozoic sediments of the Vienna and Styrian basins . The corresponding fracture zone of the eastern edge of the Alps shows low-active volcanism and relatively strong seismic activity (see thermal line ). On the southern edge of the central Eastern Alps ( Bergell and Rieserferner ) there are some granitoids of Alpine origin. Their melts likely penetrated the periadriatic suture .

structure

Designation of the mountains in the Central Alps
Mountains	mountains	height
Edge mountains east of the Mur	Hochwechsel , Fischbacher Alps , Grazer Bergland	1,782 m
Bacher Mountains	Črni Vrh	1,543 m
Lavanttal Alps	Seetal Alps ( Zirbitzkogel ), Koralpe ( Großer Speikkogel ), Packalpe ( Ameringkogel ), Saualpe ( Ladinger Spitz ), Gleinalpe ( Speikkogel )	2,396 m
Lower Tauern	Radstädter Tauern , Schladminger Tauern ( Hochgolling , Hochwildstelle ), Wölzer Tauern , Rottenmanner Tauern ( Großer Bösenstein ), Seckauer Tauern	2,862 m
Nockberge	or Gurktal Alps	2,440 m
Hohe Tauern	Ankogelgroup , Kreuzeckgruppe , Goldberg Group , Schober , Glockner group , Granatspitzgruppe , villgraten mountains , Rieserfernergruppe and Venedigergruppe	3,798 m
Salzburg Slate Alps ⁽¹⁾	Hundstein	2,117 m
Kitzbühel Alps ⁽¹⁾	Kreuzjoch , Großer Rettenstein , Geißstein	2,558 m
Zillertal Alps	Hochfeiler , Großer Möseler , Hoher Riffler , Olperer , Reichenspitze	3,509 m
Tux Alps	Patscherkofel , Kellerjoch , Rastkogel , Lizumer Reckner	2,886 m
Stubai Alps	Zuckerhütl , Cabinetogel , Ruderhofspitze , Habicht , Acherkogel , Serles	3,507 m
Sarntal Alps	Hirzer , Hochwart, Jakobsspitze , Weißhorn , Villanderer Berg	2,781 m
Ötztal Alps	Wildspitze , Weißkugel , Similaun , Watzespitze , Hohe Wilde	3,768 m
Samnaun group	Mother	3,293 m
Verwall group	High Riffler	3,168 m
Rätikon	Schesaplana	2,964 m
Silvretta	Piz Linard	3,411 m
Ortler Alps ⁽²⁾	Ortler , Königspitze , Monte Cevedale , Monte Zebrù	3,905 m
Sobretta Gavia Group ⁽²⁾	Monte Sobretta , Monte Gavia	3,296 m
Sesvenna group	Piz Sesvenna in the Swiss National Park	3,204 m
Albula Alps ⁽³⁾	Piz Kesch	3,418 m
Plessur Alps	Aroser Rothorn	2,980 m
Platta group	Piz Platta	3,392 m
Livigno Alps	Cima de 'Piazzi	3,439 m
Bernina ⁽³⁾	Piz Bernina	4,049 m

⁽¹⁾The Tyrolean and Salzburg Slate Alps as part of the Grauwackenzone are either part of the Northern Alps or the Central Alps

⁽²⁾Ortler and Sobretta are assigned to the Central Alps because they are north of the geological fault of the Tonale line. In the mountain group classification of the Alpine Association, however, they are assigned to the southern Eastern Alps because they are located south of the longitudinal valley furrow Valtellina (Adda) - Vinschgau (Etsch).

⁽³⁾The Albula and Bernina groups are geologically considered to be part of the Lower Eastern Alps and thus the Central Alps. In the mountain group classification of the Alpine Club, they belong to the western Eastern Alps , west of the upper Adda.

literature

Alexander Tollmann : Geology of Austria . 3 volumes (1977, 1985, 1986). Deuticke, Vienna.
Hubert Trimmel : Mountain group structure for the Austrian cave directory . Ed .: Association of Austrian Speleologists. Vienna 1962.

Web links

Commons : Alps - collection of images, videos and audio files

Mathias Zehring: Alpine club division of the Eastern Alps. In: bergalbum.de. Retrieved August 2009 .
Geology and landscape. In: RockyAustria. Federal Geological Institute , archived from the original on July 2, 2012 ; accessed in August 2009 (interactive map).
Nikolaus Froitzheim: Geology of the Alps Part 1: General and Eastern Alps. In: Website of the Steinmann Institute of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. Retrieved October 26, 2015 (lecture notes).

Individual evidence

↑ Note: In fact, unlike "Central Alps", the term "Central Eastern Alps" is less ambiguous because in the geographical context the central section of the Alpine arc between about 7 ° East and 9 ° 30 ′ East Central Alps is sometimes also mentioned. However, the term "Central Eastern Alps" has a more exclusive meaning than "Central Alps" in the geography of Austria and does not include some mountain groups in Graubünden and South Tyrol.
↑ Entry on the Alps in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )

[1] Note: In fact, unlike "Central Alps", the term "Central Eastern Alps" is less ambiguous because in the geographical context the central section of the Alpine arc between about 7 ° East and 9 ° 30 ′ East Central Alps is sometimes also mentioned. However, the term "Central Eastern Alps" has a more exclusive meaning than "Central Alps" in the geography of Austria and does not include some mountain groups in Graubünden and South Tyrol.

[2] Entry on the Alps in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )