Śnieżne Kotły (, cs, Sněžné jámy, german: Schneegruben, literally ''Snowy Pits'', ''Snowy Cirque'', ''Snowy Cwm'') are two glacial cirques situated in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in the Sudetes in the

Karkonosze National Park The Karkonosze National Park ( pl, Karkonoski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in the Karkonosze Mountains in the Sudetes in southwestern Poland, along the border with the Czech Republic. The park is located in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the ...

. They are a unique example of the alpine landscape in the area and have been a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

since 1933.

Description

The walls of both cirques are about high and contain small tarn lakes. They were formed during the last phase of the glacial period and consist predominantly of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

. However, in two exposed places

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

was found (apparently of volcanic origin), which is quite rare in this part of Central Europe. Some rare species of arctic and alpine plants appear in the cold and dark parts of the cirques: Pulsatilla alpina,

Gentiana asclepiadea ''Gentiana asclepiadea'', the willow gentian, is a species of flowering plant of the genus ''Gentiana'' in the family Gentianaceae, native to central and eastern Europe from primarily mountain (montane) woodland though it does occur in less woode ...

, Aconitum napellus, and the only place in the Sudetes where Micranthes nivalis appears.Roślinność Śnieżnych Kotłów
etrieved 2009-12-26/ref> At the top of the larger cirque, at the

Łabski Szczyt Łabski Szczyt or Violík (in Polish and Czech) (german: Veilchenstein) is a mountain peak located in the western Giant Mountains on the Czech-Polish border. The source of the Elbe River, one of Europe's major rivers, is situated on the southern ...

, there is a radio and television tower.

Hiking and climbing

It is possible to climb the cirque walls, though climbing is permitted only in January and February and dangerous; since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

there have been ten fatal accidents.Karkonosze - ciekawe miejsca
etrieved 2009-12-26/ref> Hiking is possible: the

Polish - Czech Friendship Trail Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

, part of the Main Sudeten Trail, runs along the upper ridge of the cirques, close to the abyss. Also, a yellow trail from the mountain hut under the Łabski Peak (Polish: Schronisko pod Łabskim Szczytem) leads to the top of the cirques. The green trail leads through the bottom of the cirques.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sniezne Kotly Sudetes Valleys of Poland