The Erlspitze Group (german: Erlspitzgruppe), also called the
Seefeld Seefeld may refer to:
Places
* Seefeld in Tirol, a tourist resort in Tyrol, Austria
* Seefeld, Bavaria, a town in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany
** Seefeld Castle
* Seefeld, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Ho ...
Group, is the southwesternmost side range of the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n part of the
Karwendel
The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part of Bavaria, Germany. Four mountain chain, chain ...
mountains in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. It forms a horseshoe-shaped highland around the valley of Eppzirler Tal and is joined in the south to the
Nordkette
The Nordkette, also variously called the North Chain, Northern Range, rarely the Inn Valley Range or Inn Valley Chain (''Inntalkette''), is a range of mountains just north of the city of Innsbruck in Austria. It is the southernmost of the four g ...
by the Erl Saddle (''Erlsattel'') near
Solsteinhaus
The Solsteinhaus is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club located at a height of on the Erl Saddle (''Erlsattel'') between the mountains of the Nordkette and Erlspitze Group. It was opened in 1914 and totally renovated in 200 ...
. It is bounded in the west by the
Seefeld Seefeld may refer to:
Places
* Seefeld in Tirol, a tourist resort in Tyrol, Austria
* Seefeld, Bavaria, a town in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany
** Seefeld Castle
* Seefeld, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Ho ...
Basin, in the east by the valleys of the Gleirschtal and the Großes Kristental; its forested northern foothills reach as far as
Scharnitz
Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Innsbruck and from Seefeld in Tirol on the German border. It is one of the largest municipalities and has 10 parts: Au, Eisack, Gieße ...
.
Unlike the four main ranges of the Karwendel, the Erlspitze Group is made of
Main Dolomite
Main Dolomite (german: Hauptdolomit, hu, Fődolomit, it, Dolomia Principale) is a lithostratigraphic unit in the Alps of Europe. Formation was defined by K.W. Gümbel in 1857.
Middle to Late Triassic sedimentary record in the Alpine realm is ...
. Typical of this rock are bizarre weathering forms, like
towers
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifica ...
,
pinnacles
A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...
and sharply formed
arête
An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequen ...
s as well as
rock arches and
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s as a consequence of the rapid erosion of individual rock
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
.
Its valley bases are
Hochzirl
Zirl is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 10 km west of Innsbruck at the bottom of a pass up the side of the Zirler Berg, leading to Seefeld and ultimately to Germany. The location was ment ...
,
Reith,
Seefeld Seefeld may refer to:
Places
* Seefeld in Tirol, a tourist resort in Tyrol, Austria
* Seefeld, Bavaria, a town in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany
** Seefeld Castle
* Seefeld, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Ho ...
and
Scharnitz
Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Innsbruck and from Seefeld in Tirol on the German border. It is one of the largest municipalities and has 10 parts: Au, Eisack, Gieße ...
, all of which are on the
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
-
Mittenwald
Mittenwald is a German municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria.
Geography
Mittenwald is located approximately 16 kilometres to the south-east of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is situated in the Valley of the River Isar, b ...
section of the
Mittenwald Railway
The Mittenwald Railway (german: Mittenwaldbahn), popularly known as the Karwendelbahn (Karwendel railway), is a railway line in the Alps in Austria and Germany. It connects Innsbruck via Seefeld (both in Tyrol, Austria) and Mittenwald to Garmi ...
.
Two
alpine club hut
Alpine club huts (german: Alpenvereinshütten) or simply club huts (''Clubhütten'') form the majority of the over 1,300 mountain huts in the Alps and are maintained by branches, or sections, of the various Alpine clubs. Although the usual English ...
s act as bases for tours in the area of the Erlspitze Group: in the west is the
Nördlinger Hut
The Nördlinger Hut (german: Nördlinger Hütte) is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the German Alpine Club that is situated at a height of south of the summit of the Reither Spitze in the Austrian state of Tyrol.''Seefeld Leutasch'' 1:25,000 hik ...
and, in the south, is the
Solsteinhaus
The Solsteinhaus is an Alpine Club hut belonging to the Austrian Alpine Club located at a height of on the Erl Saddle (''Erlsattel'') between the mountains of the Nordkette and Erlspitze Group. It was opened in 1914 and totally renovated in 200 ...
. In the northern part of the Erlspitze Group are two huts open in summer: the
Oberbrunnalm and, in the Eppzirler Tal, the
Eppzirler Alm.
Important peaks (by height)
*
Erlspitze
The Erlspitze, at , is the highest mountain of the Erlspitze Group, range to which it gives its name in the southeastern corner of the Karwendel Alps. Its pyramid-shaped summit makes it a good observation peak north of the Erl Saddle and the Solst ...
()
*
Reither Spitze
The Reither Spitze is a mountain in the Karwendel in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol that, thanks to its location at the southwestern end of the Erlspitze Group, is particularly well known for its great views of the surrounding area from its ...
()
*
Freiungen
The Freiungspitzen (plural) are a group of 3 peaks in the Erlspitze Group in the Karwendel Alps on the territory of the Austrian municipality of Zirl. The highest summit, the west top, has a height of , the middle top is and the east top is .Acco ...
()
*
Kuhljochspitze
The Kuhljochspitze is a mountain, high, in the Erlspitze Group in the Karwendel Alps in Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Easter ...
()
*
Härmelekopf ()
*
Seefelder Spitze
The Seefelder Spitze is a mountain east of Seefeld in Tirol in the Karwendel Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is 2,221 metres high and there is a summit cross at the top.''Seefeld Leutasch'' 1:25,000 hiking map, Wanderland-Verlag, 4th edn., ...
()
* Fleischbanktürme ()
* Fleischbankspitze ()
* Karlspitze ()
* Seefelder Joch ()
* Zischgenkopf ()
* Zäunlkopf ()
Literature
* Walter Klier: ''
Alpine Club Guide
The ''Alpine Club Guides'' (german: Alpenvereinsführer, commonly shortened to ''AV Führer'' or ''AVF'') are the standard series of Alpine guides that cover all the important mountain groups in the Eastern Alps. They are produced jointly by the Ge ...
Karwendel alpin.'' 15th edn., Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich, 2005. {{ISBN, 3-7633-1121-1.
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Mountain ranges of Tyrol (state)
Karwendel