Tennen Mountains

Tennen Mountains
Tennen Mountains
	The mighty west face of the Tennen seen from the Hochkönig.
Highest point
Peak	Raucheck
Elevation	2,430 m (7,970 ft)
Dimensions
Length	15 km (9.3 mi)
Geography
	Tennen Mountains (in red) within the Alps.; The borders of the range according to; Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps
Location	Northern Limestone Alps, Salzburg, Austria
Country	Austria
Range coordinates	47°30′N13°14′E / 47.500°N 13.233°E Coordinates: 47°30′N13°14′E / 47.500°N 13.233°E

Last updated February 26, 2019

The Tennen Mountains^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] (German : Tennengebirge) is a small, but rugged, mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, which lies in front of the Eastern Alps for its entire length. It is a very heavily karstified high plateau, about 60 km² in area, with many caves. The range is located in Austria in the district of Salzburg near Bischofshofen.

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

The Northern Limestone Alps, also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the latter group, where the higher peaks are located, is based on differences in geological composition.

Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the south. The peaks and mountain passes are lower compared to the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park.

Extent and neighbouring ranges

The outline of the Tennen range is formed:^[6]

in the west by the Hagen Mountains , a part of the Berchtesgaden Alps , separated by the Salzach river. Here, at the northern end of the Lueg Pass, is the narrowest point of the Salzach gorge through the Limestone Alps.
in the north and northeast by the River Lammer as far as the Rußbach stream, which descends from the Gschütt Pass. Beyond the Lammer is the Osterhorn Group (Salzkammergut Mountains)
in the east by the Lammer valley as far as Lungötz, separating it from the Dachstein Mountains
in the south it borders on part of the Salzburg Slate Alps right of the Salzach (Hochgründeck, Roßbrand) along the line from Karbach to St. Martin – Fritzbach – Salzach to Bischofshofen

The Hagen Mountains are a subrange of the Berchtesgaden Alps. They lie mainly in the Austrian state of Salzburg, the western quarter is in the Bavarian county of Berchtesgadener Land. The steep western flanks of the Hagen lie in Bavaria and drop 1,700 metres (5,580 ft) in height to the basin of the Berchtesgadener Königssee.

Berchtesgaden Alps mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps

The Berchtesgaden Alps are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. The central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Land district of southeastern Bavaria, Germany, while the adjacent area in the north, east and south is part of the Austrian state of Salzburg.

The Salzach is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Inn and is 227 kilometres (141 mi) in length, its flow eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of 6,829 km² (2,637 sq mi) comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Central Eastern Alps. 83% of its drainage basin lies in Austria, the remainder in Germany (Bavaria). Its largest tributaries are Lammer, Berchtesgadener Ache, Saalach, Sur and Götzinger Achen.

Valley settlements

Werfen is a market town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is mainly known for medieval Hohenwerfen Castle and the Eisriesenwelt ice cave, the largest in the world.

Pfarrwerfen is a municipality in the St. Johann im Pongau district in the Austrian state of Salzburg.

Werfenweng is a municipality in the St. Johann im Pongau district in the state of Salzburg in Austria.

Summit

The highest mountains in the Tennen are Raucheck (2,430 m above sea level (AA)) in the west and Bleikogel (2,412 m above sea level (AA)) in the east. The highest points all rise on the southern edge of the plateau, which falls away to the north. The most important peaks are:

At 2,430 m (AA), the Raucheck is the highest peak in the Tennen Mountains in the Northern Limestone Alps. To the south rock faces up to 1,000 metres drop into the valley of the Salzach, whilst its northern side descends relatively gently over a broad plateau into the barren Pitschenberg valley where the Leopold Happisch Haus is located.

Raucheck (2,430 m)
Lehnender Stein (2,402 m)
Pfaffenleitnkopf (2,370 m)
Werfener Hochthron (2,363 m)
Fritzerkogel (2,360 m)
Streitmandl (2,360 m)
Schubbühel (2,334 m)
Tiroler Kogel (2,324 m)
Eiskogel (2,321 m)
Brietkogel (2,316 m)
Wieselstein (2,300 m)
Scheiblingkogel (2,290 m)
Hochkogel (2,283 m)
Fieberhorn (2,278 m)
Tauernkogel (2,247 m)
Knallstein (2,234 m)
Hochkarfelderkopf (2,219 m)
Breitstein (2,161 m)
Tagweide (2,128 m)
Edelweißkogel (2,030 m)

The Fritzerkogel is a mountain in the Tennengebirge in the northern Limestone Alps, Austria. With its elevation of 2,360 metres (7,740 ft), is one of the higher peaks in the mountain range. Seen from the north it stands out as a relatively isolated, broad summit block, whose mighty rock faces and steep, rugged, rocky flanks (Schrofen) fall away on all sides. Its 1,200-metre-high (3,900 ft) south cliff face is impressive and makes it a striking two-thousander.

Geology

The Tennen is a heavily karstified massif, composed mainly of Dachstein limestone lying on a foundation of Ramsau dolomite.

Its southern foothills, along the line Lungötz–Werfenweng–Werfen, belong to an imbricate zone (Schuppenzone). This zone, made of Werfen Formation from the Lower Triassic and middle triadic dolomites (Anisian, Ladinian), is called the Werfen-St.-Martin Schuppen Zone.^[7]

Caves

There are numerous caves in the Tennen Mountains.^[8].

The most famous is the Eisriesenwelt near Werfen, which is about 42 km long and is the largest ice cave in the world. Its ice section is open to the public as a show cave.
The best-known caves near valley level are the Brunnecker Cave on Lueg Pass, the Winnerfall Cave near Oberscheffau and the Trickl Cave near Abtenau. These are active water caves which can become flooded during snowmelt or other periods of high water level.
Another important cave system is the Platteneckeis Cave–Berger Cave–Bierloch system in the northwest of the mountain block. This system drains towards the Brunnecker Cave, dropping through a height of over 1,000 metres.
Other important caves are the Schneeloch on the Kuchelbergalm
and the Eiskogel Cave , which crosses the mountain of the same name on the southern edge of the Tennen

The Tennen Mountains are a preferred research region for the State Cave Research Association in Salzburg, which collects and publishes results of its research. New caves are continually being found, but even old, well-known caves sometimes reveal new secrets.

Knowledge of the caves, and the routes that water takes through them, is important, particularly in terms of future water supply for the population and the protection of water resources.

Walking and climbing

Being a high plateau, the Tennen has numerous trails for the Alpine hiker. However, walkers need to be aware of the lack of water in the karst terrain and the dangers of getting lost in mist or fog. Alpine experience and a good level of fitness are basic pre-requisites, even though there are many mountain huts available. The precipices on the edge of the plateau offer the climber a wide scope of climbing options. The faces on the southern edge of the range, especially around the Werfener Hut and above Dr. Heinrich Hackel Hut are very popular due to their easy accessibility. In winter there are various ski touring routes, mainly crossing the plateau, but also extreme ski routes in some places.

Huts

Anton Proksch House (1,590 m)
Dr. Friedrich Oedl House (1,575 m)
Dr. Heinrich Hackel Hut (1,530 m)
Edelweißer Hut (2,350 m)
Elmaualm (1,520 m)
Freilassing Hut (1,550 m)
Gsengalm Hut (1,450 m)
Gwechenberg Hut (1,365 m)
Laufen Hut (1,725 m)
Leopold Happisch House (1,925 m)
Mahdegg Alm (1,200 m)
Rossberghütte (1,000 m)
Stefan Schatzl Hut (1,340 m)
Werfen Hut (1,970 m)

Long distance trails

The European long-distance trail E4/ North Alpine Way 01/ Via Alpina ( Violet Trail Stage A34/35) runs through the southern Tennen, from Lungötz to Werfen via the Dr. Heinrich Hackel Hut.

In addition Salzburg's Arno Way runs along the west of the group (Section 6 Kalkberge Ost, Stage 52 Annaberg Laufener Hut and 53 to Abtenau).^[9]

Related Research Articles

Salzburg is a state (Land) of Austria. It is officially named Land Salzburg, colloquially Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its eponymous capital Salzburg city and as such is the only state to be named after its capital. By its centuries-long history as an independent Prince-Bishopric, Salzburg's tradition differs from the other Austrian lands.

The Kitzbühel Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the town of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. Geologically they are part of the western slate zone.

Bischofshofen Place in Salzburg, Austria

Bischofshofen is a town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg. It is an important traffic junction located both on the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line and at the Tauern Autobahn, a major highway route crossing the main chain of the Alps.

The Eisriesenwelt is a natural limestone and ice cave located in Werfen, Austria, about 40 km south of Salzburg. The cave is inside the Hochkogel mountain in the Tennengebirge section of the Alps. It is the largest ice cave in the world, extending more than 42 km and visited by about 200,000 tourists every year.

Hallein District District in Salzburg, Austria

The Bezirk Hallein is an administrative district (Bezirk) in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Tennengau region.

Hoher Dachstein is a strongly karstic Austrian mountain, and the second highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria in central Austria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Parts of the massif also lie in the state of Salzburg, leading to the mountain being referred to as the Drei-Länder-Berg. The Dachstein massif covers an area of around 20×30 km with dozens of peaks above 2,500 m, the highest of which are in the southern and south-western areas. Seen from the north, the Dachstein massif is dominated by the glaciers with the rocky summits rising beyond them. By contrast, to the south, the mountain drops almost vertically to the valley floor.

Golling an der Salzach is a market town in the Hallein district of Salzburg, Austria.

The Salzburg Slate Alps are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Situated within the greywacke zone, they could be regarded either as part of the Northern Limestone Alps or of the Central Eastern Alps.

The Salzkammergut Mountains are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, located in the Austrian states of Salzburg and Upper Austria. They are named after the Salzkammergut historic region, part of the Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Ahornbüchsenkopf is a northern subpeak of the Hoher Göll, 1,604 m above sea level (NN) high, in the Berchtesgaden Alps in the county of Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, Germany, and the state of Salzburg in Austria.

The Dachstein Mountains are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps.

The Laufen Hut sits at an elevation of 1,726 metres (5,663 ft) in the Tennengebirge at the foot of the Fritzerkogel mountain in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The Fritzerkogel, with an elevation of 2,360 metres (7,740 ft), is one of the higher peaks in the Tennen Mountains in the northern Limestone Alps. The Laufen Alpine club hut is operated as a self-service facility as a major base for numerous climbing routes, circular routes and crossings, as well as hiking on the plateau of the Tennengebirge, and ski touring.

The Torsäule is a very steep, about 500-metre-high limestone formation on the eastern flank of the Hochkönig massif in the Berchtesgaden Alps.

Salzachöfen, sometimes translated as Salzachöfen Gorge, is a narrow gorge in the Northern Limestone Alps of Salzburg State, Austria. The gap is formed by the Salzach river as it cuts between the Hagen Mountains and Tennen Mountains. Lueg Pass provides a route along the Salzach above Salzachöfen. The terms Lueg Pass and Salzachöfen are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the whole canyon.

Lueg Pass is a mountain pass or defile above the Salzachöfen Gorge in Salzburg State, Austria. The pass is at the western edge of the Tennen Mountains and is approximately 100 m (330 ft) above the Salzach river where Salzachöfen is at its narrowest. The terms Lueg Pass and Salzachöfen are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the whole canyon. Lueg Pass, providing a natural access through the narrow gap, was historically one of the primary routes across the Northern Limestone Alps.

References

↑ Käß, Werner and Behrens, Horst (1992). Tracing Technique in Geohydrology, Gebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin/Stuttgart, p. 404. ISBN 3-443-01013-X.
↑ Arnold, Rosemarie and Taylor, Robert (2012). Austria, Baedeker, p. 571. ISBN 978-3-8297-6613-5.
↑ Bernhard, Thomas (1979). Correction, Knopf, p. 233. ISBN 978-0-3944-1141-5.
↑ Hammond Atlas of the World, 5th ed., Hammond World Atlas Corp., 2008. ISBN 978-0-8437-0967-4.
↑ Mutton, Alice Florence Adelaide (1961). Central Europe: a regional and human geography, Longmans.
↑ Alpenvereinseinteilung der Ostalpen
↑ Herbert Weingartner: Die geologischen Situation. In: Erhaltung, Chancen und Weiterentwicklung des Tourismus zur Sicherung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung in der Region "Südliches Tennengebirge". Institut für Geographie und angewandte Geoinformatik, Salzburg (as at: 9 October 2000)
↑ Audra, Philippe. "Premières observations morphologiques et spéléologiques sur le karst haut-alpin du Tennengebirge (Salzburg, Autriche)". ISSN 0751-7688.
↑ "Abschnitt 6 - Kalkberge Ost". Der Arnoweg. SalzburgerLand. Retrieved 14 May 2010.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Käß, Werner and Behrens, Horst (1992). Tracing Technique in Geohydrology, Gebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin/Stuttgart, p. 404. ISBN 3-443-01013-X.

[2] Arnold, Rosemarie and Taylor, Robert (2012). Austria, Baedeker, p. 571. ISBN 978-3-8297-6613-5.

[3] Bernhard, Thomas (1979). Correction, Knopf, p. 233. ISBN 978-0-3944-1141-5.

[4] Hammond Atlas of the World, 5th ed., Hammond World Atlas Corp., 2008. ISBN 978-0-8437-0967-4.

[5] Mutton, Alice Florence Adelaide (1961). Central Europe: a regional and human geography, Longmans.

[6] Alpenvereinseinteilung der Ostalpen

[7] Herbert Weingartner: Die geologischen Situation. In: Erhaltung, Chancen und Weiterentwicklung des Tourismus zur Sicherung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung in der Region "Südliches Tennengebirge". Institut für Geographie und angewandte Geoinformatik, Salzburg (as at: 9 October 2000)

[8] Audra, Philippe. "Premières observations morphologiques et spéléologiques sur le karst haut-alpin du Tennengebirge (Salzburg, Autriche)". ISSN 0751-7688.

[arnoweg_6-9] "Abschnitt 6 - Kalkberge Ost". Der Arnoweg. SalzburgerLand. Retrieved 14 May 2010.