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The Kitzbühel Alps (german: Kitzbüheler Alpen or ''Kitzbühler Alpen'') are a
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...
of Kitzbühel in
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
,
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 ...
. 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 The Ziller Valley (german: Zillertal) is a valley in Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller River. It is the widest valley south of the Inn Valley (german: Inntal) and lends its name to the Zillertal Alps, the strongly glaciated section of ...
and
Tux Alps The Tux Alps (german: Tuxer Alpen) or Tux Prealps (''Tuxer Voralpen'') are a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps, which in turn form part of the Eastern Alps within Central Europe. They are located entirely within the Austrian federal state ...
in the west to the Saalach river and Zell am See on
Lake Zell Lake Zell (german: Zeller See; it, Lago di Zell) is a small freshwater lake in the Austrian Alps. It takes its name from the city of Zell am See, which is located on a small delta protruding into the lake. The lake is long and wide. It is up ...
(''Zellersee'') in the east. They are bordered to the south by the
Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps ( it, Alpi Aurine; german: Zillertaler Alpen) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. Name The range is named after the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) on its north. Geography Th ...
and the High Tauern mountain range on the other side of the Salzach River, on the north by the
Inn River The Inn ( la, Aenus; rm, En) is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The river is long. It is a right tributary of the Danube and it is the third largest tributary of the Danube by discharge. The highest point of its drainage basin is ...
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 Wörgl () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, in the Kufstein district. It is from the international border with Bavaria, Germany. Population Transport Wörgl is an important railway junction between the line from Innsbruck to Munich, ...
and
Kufstein Kufstein (; Central Bavarian: ''Kufstoa'') is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 19,600 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The gr ...
. 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 Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...
.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 The Großer Rettenstein is a mountain with multiple peaks in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria. The main summit reaches a height of Although not the highest mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps (that honour goes to the Kreuzjoch at ), the Großer Rett ...
(2,366 m), the Geißstein (2,363 m), the
Wildseeloder The Wildseeloder is a mountain in the eastern Kitzbühel Alps in Tyrol, Austria. The valley base for the Wildseeloder is Fieberbrunn Fieberbrunn is a market town in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol in the Kitzbühel (district), Kitzb� ...
(2,118 m), the Großer Beil (2,309 m), the
Großer Galtenberg The Großer Galtenberg is the highest mountain in the Alpbach valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol and belongs to the Kitzbühel Alps. It is high, is located at the southern end of the Alpbach valley and may be approached from the Alpbach subur ...
(2,425 m), the Kitzbühler Horn (1,996 m), the
Hohe Salve The Hohe Salve is a well-known mountain located between Kufstein, Wörgl and Kitzbühel in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is part of the Kitzbühel Alps and is also nicknamed ''the Rigi of the Tyrol''. Its summit is high,Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany * Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel The Hahnenkamm is a mo ...
(1,712 m) and the Schmittenhöhe (1,965 m). Popular mountain destinations on the edge of the Inn valley are the Pölven (1,595 m) and the Gratlspitz (1,899 m). The Kitzbühel Alps are found in the regions of St. Johann in Tirol, Kitzbühel and its environs, Pillerseetal, Brixental, Wildschönau and Alpbach. The Kitzbühel Alps Tourist Region only covers part of the geographical Kitzbühel Alps. The Kitzbühel Alps have relatively few rugged mountain tops and are well suited to walking and skiing. There are several large ski resorts in the area both in the Tyrolean and Salzburg regions. The
Dienten Mountains The Salzburg Slate Alps (german: Salzburger Schieferalpen) are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Situated within the greywacke zone, they could be regarded either as part of the Northern Limestone Alps or o ...
are a geologically-related extension of the mountains to the east. The Pinzgau Ridgeway (''Pinzgauer Höhenweg'') runs through both ranges in an east-west direction. Many ski route and the Saalach Valley Ridgeway (''Saalachtaler Höhenweg'') run through the Kitzbühel Alps.


Neighbouring ranges

The mountain ranges that surround the Kitzbühel Alps are: *
Kaiser Mountains The Kaiser Mountains (german: Kaisergebirge, meaning ''Emperor Mountains'') are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps. Its main ridges – are the Zahmer Kaiser and south of it the Wilder Kaiser. The mountains are s ...
* Lofer Mountains * Leogang Mountains * Salzburg Slate Alps * Glockner Group * Granatspitze Group * Venediger Group *
Zillertal Alps The Zillertal Alps ( it, Alpi Aurine; german: Zillertaler Alpen) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps on the border of Austria and Italy. Name The range is named after the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) on its north. Geography Th ...
*
Tux Alps The Tux Alps (german: Tuxer Alpen) or Tux Prealps (''Tuxer Voralpen'') are a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps, which in turn form part of the Eastern Alps within Central Europe. They are located entirely within the Austrian federal state ...
* Brandenberg Alps


Geology

The Kitzbühel Alps belong to the greywacke zone and are mainly composed of
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
and
phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...
s. The mountain top profiles and the
cirques A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landf ...
are relatively smooth; their slopes mostly green with numerous alpine meadows (''Almwiesen''). Nevertheless,
rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sedime ...
s of
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
and dolomite do occur e.g. on the
Großer Rettenstein The Großer Rettenstein is a mountain with multiple peaks in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria. The main summit reaches a height of Although not the highest mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps (that honour goes to the Kreuzjoch at ), the Großer Rett ...
. n the western part of the Kitzbühel Alps most of the valleys run in a north-south direction; in the east they are predominantly oriented east-west. The Alpine geographical reason for this is the striking longitudinal trench of the river Salzach. This so-called Tauern Northern Edge Fault (''Tauernnordrand-Störung'') played an important role during Alpine folding and even today forms a distinct landscape and geological boundary with the ''three-thousanders'' of the High Tauern. The western border of the mountain range is, petrographically, less clear because here its transition to the ''Innsbruck'' quartz phyllites is not clear-cut. By contrast, in the northwest and north (Inn valley near
Schwaz Schwaz () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative center of the Schwaz district. Schwaz is located in the lower Inn valley. Location Schwaz lies in the middle of the Lower Inn Valley at the foot of the Kellerjoch a ...
, Brixental and the Steinernes Meer) the difference between the gently folded slate and the limestone and dolomite rock of the Limestone Alps hits the observer in the eye. The major rocks of the Kitzbühel Alps divide into two groups by age, the older rocks probably dating to the
Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. ...
period. For example, the deep underground complex of Wildschönau slate is quite uniform and has no fossils at all, just volcanic deposits. Above it lies weakly metamorphosed
volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcan ...
, up to 600 metres thick, made up of quartz
porphyroid Porphyry ( ) is a textural term for an igneous rock consisting of coarse-grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz dispersed in a fine-grained silicate-rich, generally aphanitic matrix (geology), matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals ar ...
s and
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
, mainly in the west (
Hohe Salve The Hohe Salve is a well-known mountain located between Kufstein, Wörgl and Kitzbühel in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is part of the Kitzbühel Alps and is also nicknamed ''the Rigi of the Tyrol''. Its summit is high,Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany * Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel The Hahnenkamm is a mo ...
and
Wildseeloder The Wildseeloder is a mountain in the eastern Kitzbühel Alps in Tyrol, Austria. The valley base for the Wildseeloder is Fieberbrunn Fieberbrunn is a market town in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol in the Kitzbühel (district), Kitzb� ...
). Over the porphyroids lie various horizontal beds of slate from the
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoi ...
period that are often clayey-sandy on top. In the vicinity of Kitzbühel itself, Silurian limestones may also be found and, to the west, the grey, coarse-grained Schwaz dolomite which transitions towards the east, near Leogang, into Spielberg dolomite. Also represented is the post- Variscan period, with its
Rotliegendes The Rotliegend, Rotliegend Group or Rotliegendes (german: the underlying red) is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) of latest Carboniferous to Guadalupian (middle Permian) age that is found in the subsurface of large areas in ...
(red slates), and thick sandstones from the ''Permoskyth''. All these successive layers of the greywacke zone were probably - together with those of the Northern Limestone Alps - overturned to the northern edge of the Alps during the time of Alpine orogeny from a region of deposition far to the south.


Sports

Their mainly gently rolling nature makes the Kitzbühel Alps suitable for
alpine farming Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine Nation ...
,
hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...
and
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...
.


Tourism

The Kitzbühel Alps are a very popular tourist destination. In addition to innumerable managed Alpine pastures and inns, there is also a large number of mountain huts belonging to the various Alpine clubs. * Alpenrose Hut *
Neue Bamberger Hut The New Bamberg Hut (german: Neue Bamberger Hütte) lies at 1,756 m AMSL in the Kelchsau in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria and is a mountain hut owned by the German Alpine Club's Bamberg Section. The hut may be reached either from the Kelchsau � ...
* Bochumer Hut * Brechhornhaus (private) * Bürgl Hut (private) * Erich Sulke Hut * Erla Hut (private) * Fritz Hintermayr Hut (private) * Hochhörndler Hut (private) * Hochwildalm Hut * Kobinger Hut (private) * Oberland Hut *
Pinzgau Hut The Pinzgau Hut or Pinzgauer Hut (german: Pinzgauer Hütte) is a mountain hut at 1,700 m (5,577 ft)Reynolds, Kev. ''Walking in Austria''. p. 201. above sea level in the Kitzbühel Alps in Salzburg, Austria. Location The hut stands w ...
(Friends of Nature) * Steinberghaus Inn (''Gasthaus Steinberghaus'') * Wildkogelhaus (private) *
Wildseeloderhaus The Wildseeloderhaus is an Alpine hut owned by the Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV) that lies below the Wildseeloder mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria. Location The hut lies at a height of 1,854 metrespeaks are concentrated to the south-western corner and reach rather modest 2,500 m, the highest being the Kreuzjoch at 2,558 metres above sea level. Roughly in the centre of the range lies the famous
ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In N ...
of Kitzbühel, the venue of the
Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany * Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel The Hahnenkamm is a mo ...
race, one of the most spectacular and well-known ski races in the world. The highest summits in the range are (in order of height above the Adriatic): * Kreuzjoch, 2,558 m. *
Torhelm At a height of the Torhelm is one of the highest mountains in the Kitzbühel Alps in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies at the head of several side valleys of the Ziller and Brixental valleys. Northwest of the summit is the ''Hemergrund'' th ...
, 2,494 m. *
Salzachgeier The Salzachgeier () is a rugged peak on the edge of the Kitzbühel Alps on the border of the Austrian states of Salzburg and Tyrol. In the cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Altern ...
, 2,469 m. * Aleitenspitze, 2,449 m. * Schafsiedel, 2,447 m. * Kröndlhorn, 2,444 m. *
Großer Galtenberg The Großer Galtenberg is the highest mountain in the Alpbach valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol and belongs to the Kitzbühel Alps. It is high, is located at the southern end of the Alpbach valley and may be approached from the Alpbach subur ...
, 2,424 m. * Geißstein, 2,366 m. *
Großer Rettenstein The Großer Rettenstein is a mountain with multiple peaks in the Kitzbühel Alps in Austria. The main summit reaches a height of Although not the highest mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps (that honour goes to the Kreuzjoch at ), the Großer Rett ...
, 2,362 m. * Großer Beil, 2,309 m. *
Sonnenjoch The Sonnenjoch is a mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps in Tyrol. The summit has a height of The Sonnenjoch (also Sonnjoch) lies between Alpbachtal, Wildschönau and Kelchsau. Its summit borders on three Tirolean districts (Kitzbühel, Kufstein, S ...
, 2,287 m. *
Wildkogel The Wildkogel is a high grass mountain in the Kitzbühel Alps in Oberpinzgau in Salzburg. It lies north of the Salzach river valley and the nearby towns of Neukirchen and Bramberg. At high, the ''Wildkogelhaus'' (built in 1898) can host up to ...
, 2,224 m. * Kleiner Rettenstein, 2,216 m. * Steinbergstein, 2,215 m. * Gamshag, 2,178 m. * Wiedersberger Horn, 2,127 m. *
Wildseeloder The Wildseeloder is a mountain in the eastern Kitzbühel Alps in Tyrol, Austria. The valley base for the Wildseeloder is Fieberbrunn Fieberbrunn is a market town in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol in the Kitzbühel (district), Kitzb� ...
, 2,119 m. * Schattberg, 2,097 m. * Brechhorn, 2,032 m. * Kitzbühler Horn, 1,996 m. * Schmittenhöhe, 1,965 m. * Wildkarspitze 1,961 m. *
Gratlspitze The Gratlspitze Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen: Austrian map series 1:50.000AMAP Online accessed on 18 January 2011 Alpenvereinskarte 34/1 Kitzbüheler Alpen, West, 2003. or Gratlspitz, is a mountain in the Austrian state of Tyrol in th ...
, 1,899 m. * Schatzberg 1,898 m. *
Hohe Salve The Hohe Salve is a well-known mountain located between Kufstein, Wörgl and Kitzbühel in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is part of the Kitzbühel Alps and is also nicknamed ''the Rigi of the Tyrol''. Its summit is high,Roßkopf, 1,731 m *
Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany * Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel The Hahnenkamm is a mo ...
, 1,712 m. * Pölven, 1,595 m.


Gallery

File:Salzachgeier.jpg, The
Salzachgeier The Salzachgeier () is a rugged peak on the edge of the Kitzbühel Alps on the border of the Austrian states of Salzburg and Tyrol. In the cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Altern ...
,  m File:Kitzbüheler Alpen 17310050.jpg, View from the Salzachgeier over the Kelchsau Alps File:Kitzbühler-Horn.jpg, The Kitzbüheler Horn File:Spielberghorn.jpg, The Spielberghorn from the east


See also

*
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, ...
*
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
*
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; th ...
* Kitzbühel *
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
*
Salzburg (state) Salzburg (, ; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) (also known as ''Salzburgerland'') is a state (''Land'') of the modern Republic of Austria. It is officially named ''Land Salzburg'' to distinguish it from its eponymous capital — the city of ...


Footnotes and references


Sources

* Freytag-Berndt ''Kitzbüheler Alpen und Pinzgau''. Hiking map 1:100.000 (Sheet 38) and hut guide, Geografa Vienna-Innsbruck-Munich-Bozen. * R.Oberhauser (Hsg.): ''Der geologische Aufbau Österreichs'', Chapters 3.6.5, 3.6.6 und 3.13.
Geologische Bundesanstalt The Geological Survey of Austria (german: Geologische Bundesanstalt, GBA) in Vienna is a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and is the central point for information and advice in the field of earth scienc ...
Vienna / Springer-Verlag Vienna/ New York 1980


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitzbuhel Alps Mountain ranges of the Alps Mountain ranges of Tyrol (state) Kitzbühel District Greywacke zone