In terms of geomorphological division, the Czech Republic is a very diverse territory, located in the territory of four geomorphological provinces within four geomorphological subsystems. The Bohemian Massif within the sub-system of Hercynian Forest forms three quarters of the country. The southeastern and eastern part of the Czech territory belongs to the Western Carpathians within the Carpathian Mountains. The remaining two provinces, Western Pannonian Basin within the Pannonian Basin and North European Plain within the European Plain, cover only a small part of the Czech territory in the southeast and the northeast.
The provinces are further subdivided into subprovinces, macroregions, mesoregions, microregions and areas. The generally accepted division of the relief of the Czech Republic into subprovinces, macroregions and mesoregions is given below. [1]
The Czech Republic is a land-locked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the north. It consists mostly of low hills and plateaus surrounded along the borders by low mountains. Two areas of lowlands follow the Elbe river and the Morava river. About a third of the area of the Czech Republic is covered by forests.
The Sudetes, commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consist mainly of mountain ranges and are the highest part of Bohemian Massif. They stretch from the Saxon capital of Dresden in the northwest across to the region of Lower Silesia in Poland and to the Moravian Gate in the Czech Republic in the east. Geographically the Sudetes are a Mittelgebirge with some characteristics typical of high mountains. Its plateaus and subtle summit relief makes the Sudetes more akin to mountains of Northern Europe than to the Alps.
Outer Subcarpathia denotes the depression area at the outer base of the Carpathian arc, including foothills of the Outer Western Carpathians and Outer Eastern Carpathians. It stretches from northeastern Austria, through eastern Czech Republic, southern Poland, western Ukraine and northeastern Romania.
The Beskids or Beskid Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west along the border of Poland with Slovakia up to Ukraine in the east.
Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system.
The Lusatian Mountains are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic. They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains range west of the Elbe valley. The mountains of the northern, German, part are called the Zittau Mountains.
The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region.
The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The Western Sudetes are a geomorphological macroregion, the western part of the Sudetes subprovince on the borders of the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They are formed mostly by mountain ranges. They stretches from the Bóbr river in the east to the Elbe and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the west.
The Moravian Gate is a geomorphological feature in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Upper Silesia region in Poland. It is formed by the depression between the Carpathian Mountains in the east and the Sudetes in the west. The drainage divide between the upper Oder river and the Baltic Sea in the north and the Bečva River of the Danube basin runs through it.
Moravian-Silesian Foothills are foothills and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic.
The Bohemian Massif is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Germany, southern Poland and northern Austria.
The Western Beskids are a set of mountain ranges spanning the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. Geologically the Western Beskids are part of the Outer Western Carpathians.
The Most Basin is a tectonic depression and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is named after the city of Most. It forms the southwestern and central parts of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is among the richest European deposits of lignite, which has been extracted here since the second half of 19th century, mostly by extensive surface mining.
The Vyškov Gate is a geomorphological feature in the Moravia. It is formed by the depression between the Western Carpathian Mountains in the east and the Bohemian massif in the west. The drainage divide between the upper River Haná to the River Morava of the Danube basin runs through it and Rakovec brook. The gate is between the Upper Morava Vale and the Dyje–Svratka Vale, all in Outer Subcarpathian depression.
The Dyje–Svratka Valley is a geomorphological feature in South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.
The Upper Svratka Highlands is a mountain range in Moravia, Czech Republic. The Highlands, together with the Křižanov Highlands threshold, form the Western-Moravian part of Moldanubian Zone – east south part of Bohemian Massif.
The Křižanov Highlands is a highland and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Vysočina Region.
Nízký Jeseník is a flat highland and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the east of the country in the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions. Nízký Jeseník is the largest Czech geomorphological region, and is known for the former volcanic activity.
The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country.
