Kitzbühel Alps

The Kitzbühel Alps (german: Kitzbüheler Alpen or ''Kitzbühler Alpen'') 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 (greywacke zone).

Location

Two-thirds of the Kitzbühel Alps lie within the Austrian province of Tyrol, the remaining third is in Salzburg province. They are about long from east to west and 25 to 35 km wide. They extend from the Ziller valley and Tux Alps in the west to the Saalach river and Zell am See on Lake Zell (''Zellersee'') in the east. They are bordered to the south by the Zillertal Alps and the High Tauern mountain range on the other side of the Salzach River, on the north by the Inn River and the Northern Limestone Alps.

The boundary of the region runs along the Salzach valley via Zell am See, where the Salzach swings north, to Saalfelden. Its northern boundary runs from east to west from the Saalfelden basin along the valley of the Leoganger Ache to the Grießen Pass and from there through the Pillersee valley, Leukental and Sölllandl to Wörgl and Kufstein. Its northwestern boundary is formed by the valley of the Inn between Wörgl and Jenbach.

The Kitzbühel Alps are divided by the Kitzbüheler Ache into the Glemmtal Alps in the east (Salzburg) and the Kelchsau Alps in the west. The highest summit in the Kitzbühel Alps is the Kreuzjoch in the southwest of the mountain range northwest of Gerlos at 2558 metres above sea level.Not to be confused with the nearby mountain of the same name (2071 m) north-northwest of Gerlos. The general height of the peaks descends gradually from around 2500 m in the west to around 2000 m in the east. Other important summits are the Western Salzachgeier (2,469 m), the Kröndlhorn (2,444 m), the Großer Rettenstein (2,366 m), the Geißstein (2,363 m), the Wildseeloder (2,118 m), the Großer Beil (2,309 m), the Großer Galtenberg (2,425 m), the Kitzbühler Horn (1,996 m), the Hohe Salve