Śnieżne Kotły (, , , literally ''Snowy Pits'', ''Snowy

Cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

'', ''Snowy Cwm'') are two glacial

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

s situated in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

in the

Karkonosze National Park Giant Mountains National Park () is a National Park in the Giant Mountains in the Sudetes in southwestern Poland, along the border with the Czech Republic. The national park is located in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the highest part of the Sud ...

. 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, funga, or features of geologic ...

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 (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

. However, in two exposed places

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

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,

Aconitum napellus ''Aconitum napellus'', monkshood, aconite, Venus' chariot or wolfsbane, is a species of highly toxic flowering plants in the genus ''Aconitum'' of the family Ranunculaceae, native and endemic to western and central Europe. It is an herbaceous pe ...

, and the only place in the Sudetes where Micranthes nivalis appears. etrieved 2009-12-26/ref> At the top of the larger cirque, at the Łabski Szczyt, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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