Eastern Upper Lusatia

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Eastern Upper Lusatia
German: Östliche Oberlausitz; Polish: Obniżenie Żytawsko-Zgorzeleckie; Czech: Žitavská pánev
Trojmezi CZ-PL-DE.jpg
Tripoint of Germany, Czech Republic and Poland in the Eastern Upper Lusatia
Highest point
PeakProsečský hřeben
Elevation 593 m (1,946 ft)
Coordinates 50°44′29″N15°07′58″E / 50.74139°N 15.13278°E / 50.74139; 15.13278
Geography
Eastern Upper Lusatia
Location Germany (Saxony), Czech Republic (Liberec Region), Poland (Lower Silesian Voivodeship)
Parent range Sudetes (Western Sudetes)

Eastern Upper Lusatia is a natural region in Germany (Saxony), Czech Republic (Liberec Region) and Poland (Lower Silesian Voivodeship). It is a mesoregion of the Western Sudetes. According to the Saxon division of natural regions, the region as part of the Saxon Loess Fields and divides it into 12 subdivisions at the level of meso-geochores.

Contents

Location and boundaries

Eastern Upper Lusatia is a mesoregion of the Western Sudetes within the Bohemian Massif province. The region runs in a north-south direction between the towns of Görlitz and Zittau in Germany to Bogatynia in Poland and Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou in the Czech Republic. In the north it borders the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape, in the south the Lusatian Mountains and Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge, in the west the Upper Lusatian Gefilde and the Lusatian Highlands, and in the east the Jizera Foothills and Jizera Mountains. Its eastern part is bisected by the Lusatian Neisse River. Geographical features of particular note in the region are the Königshain Hills, the Neisse valley and the old mining landscapes south of Görlitz and in the Zittau Basin.

The highest point is Prosečský hřeben at 593 metres (1,946 ft) above sea level, located between the Czech cities of Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou. [1]

Natural region divisions

Eastern Upper Lusatia in the geomophological system of the Czech Republic Zitavska panev CZ I4A-4.png
Eastern Upper Lusatia in the geomophological system of the Czech Republic
Eastern Upper Lusatia in the geomophological system of Poland 332.25 Obnizenie Zytawsko-Zgorzeleckie.png
Eastern Upper Lusatia in the geomophological system of Poland

In the Czech Republic, the mesoregion has an area of 187 km2 (72 sq mi) and an average elevation of 384 m (1,260 ft). [2] It is further subdivided into the microregions of Liberec Valley and Hrádek Basin. [3]

In Poland the mesoregion has an area of about 240 km2 (93 sq mi).

According to the German division, the Eastern Upper Lusatia is divided as follows into mesogeochores and microgeochores and hills: [4]

Notes
  1. ↑ Actually the 395.3 m high main summit according to maps – like the clearly well known neighbour in the north  – is called the Schafberg and the Jäckelberg at 388.5 m and the Jäckelbaude is only the northern top. Locally the hill is better known as the Jäckelberg.

Landscape and geology

The natural region is very varied and characterized by hill ranges, isolated hills, plateau and basins alongside one another. Ice age ground moraines, meltwater sands and the overlying loess soils fill out the granite relief to varying degrees. The loess loam is generally only about 1 to 1.5 m thick. As witnesses to the Tertiary volcanism of the area there are lava plains and isolated hills of basalt and phonolite. In the Zittau and Oderwitz Basin, as well as the Berzdorf Basin there are important deposits of brown coal in the sediments.

Climatically Eastern Upper Lusatia lies partially in the lee of the Upper Lusatian Highlands. For example, only 665 mm of precipitation falls annually. The average annual temperature lies between 8 and 8.6 °C. The potential natural vegetation here is Wood Bedstraw-Hornbeam-Oak forest with Small-leaved Limes.

References

  1. ↑ "Prosečský hřeben (593 m n.m., Žitavská pánev)". Vrcholovka.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  2. ↑ "Geografie: Geomorfologicé celky ČR podle rozlohy – v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku v km2" (in Czech). Treking.cz. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  3. ↑ "Geomorfologické oblasti, celky a podcelky v ČR - dnes přijímané geomorfologické členění České republiky". Treking.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2026-03-04.
  4. ↑ Natural region map service of the Dresden Landscape Research Centre

Bibliography

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