The České Budějovice Basin ( cs, Českobudějovická pánev) is a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region ( cs, Jihočeský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western part ...

and it is named after the city of

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

. It is known as a cultural landscape with numerous ponds.

Geomorphology

The České Budějovice Basin is one of the mesoregions of the South Bohemian Basins (the second being the

Třeboň Basin The Třeboň Basin ( cs, Třeboňská pánev) is a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the South Bohemian Region and it is named after the town of Třeboň. It is known for its fishpond system. Geomorphology The T ...

) within the

Bohemian Massif The Bohemian Massif ( cs, Česká vysočina or ''Český masiv'', german: Böhmische Masse or ''Böhmisches Massiv'') is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Ger ...

. It is further subdivided into the microregions of Putim Basin and Blata Basin. The basin is a tectonic depression limited mostly by distinctive fault slopes, filled with slightly undulating to flat relief at a height of 380–410 m above sea level, which is the result of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and

denudation Denudation is the geological processes in which moving water, ice, wind, and waves erode the Earth's surface, leading to a reduction in elevation and in relief of landforms and landscapes. Although the terms erosion and denudation are used interch ...

processes after the emptying of lakes in the Neogene. There are no significant peaks in the area. The highest hill is Vráže at above sea level, in the southern part of the territory. In the north there are the hills Skalský vrch at and Na Zámku at .

Geology

The České Budějovice Basin was

tectonically Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...

formed during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

. The surface of the České Budějovice Basin is made up mainly of

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...

and Neogene formations. The bedrock is crystalline Moldanubicum rocks that come to the surface at the northwestern edges of the basin. Extensive accumulation forms like gravel-sand deposits,

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

clay, wide

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

floodplains and peat bogs are typical for the basin.

Geography

The České Budějovice Basin has an area of and an average elevation of . The territory has an elongated shape from the northwest to the southeast, which is almost 70 km long and 10–12 km wide. The area is densely interwoven with many watercourses. The southeastern part is drained by the

Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at M ...

River. The

Malše The Malše (german: Maltsch) is a river in Upper Austria and in the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Vltava. The Malše originates on the north slope of the , near the village of Sandl in Freistadt District, Upper Austria. It flows nort ...

flows through the southernmost part of the basin and connects with the Vltava. The northwestern part is drained by the Otava River and its tributary Blanice. The České Budějovice Basin is known for large amount of fish ponds, which were established in the region since Middle Ages. The ponds Bezdrev (area ) and Dehtář (), which are among the largest ponds in the Czech Republic, are located in the territory. The basin includes several large settlements, most notably the city of

. Other large towns are

Strakonice Strakonice (; german: Strakonitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Strakonice is made up of town parts of Strakonice I and Strakonice II, and villages of Dražejov, ...

Vodňany Vodňany (; german: Wodnian) is a town in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone, Vodňan ...

Protivín Protivín () is a town in Písek District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,700 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Chvaletice, Krč, Maletice, Milenovice, Myšenec, Protivín, Selibov, Těšínov and Zá ...

Zliv Zliv (; german: Sliw) is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,500 inhabitants. Geography Zliv is located about northwest of České Budějovice. It lies in a flat landscape in t ...

, and southern part of

Písek Písek (; german: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Písek is colloquially called "''South ...

Gallery

Dehtář od Holubovské Bašty.jpg, Dehtář pond National nature reserve Rezabinec a Rezabinecke tune in 2011 (5).JPG, Řežabinec a Řežabinecké tůně National Nature Reserve České Budějovice - centrum letecky.jpg, Aerial view of the centre of České Budějovice File:Otava confluence with blanice2.jpg, Confluence of the rivers Otava and Blanice

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ceske Budejovice Basin Landforms of the Czech Republic South Bohemian Region