''Bratschen'' are weathering products that occur as a result of

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

and aeolian

corrasion Corrasion is a geomorphological term for the process of mechanical erosion of the earth's surface caused when materials are transported across it by running water, waves, glaciers, wind or gravitational movement downslope. An example is the wear ...

almost exclusively on the calc-

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

s of the Upper Slate Mantle (''Obere Schieferhülle'') in the

High Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; german: Hohe Tauern, it, Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of S ...

mountains of Austria. The term is German but is used untranslated in English sources. The calc-schist, which appears blue-gray when freshly broken, weathers to a yellow to brown colour and flakes off on the surface to form ''bratschen''. These form steep (up to 40°), rocky, almost unvegetated mountainsides with an odd and rough-textured surface, caused by wind erosion. ''Bratschen'' are found on the mountains such as the Fuscherkarkopf, the Großer Bärenkopf, the

Kitzsteinhorn The Kitzsteinhorn is a mountain in the High Tauern range of the Central Eastern Alps in Austria. It is part of the Glockner Group and reaches a height of AA. The Kitzsteinhorn Glaciers are a popular ski area. Geography The mountain is located n ...

, the Schwerteck, or on the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous Bratschenköpfen.

References

Sources

* {{Periglacial environment Geomorphology Hohe Tauern Geology of the Alps