The Křižanov Highlands (, ) is a

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the

Vysočina Region The Vysočina Region (; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Jihlava. The region is located in the central part of the country. It is one of just three in the country (the others being Prague and the Central Boh ...

Geomorphology

The Křižanov Highlands is a mesoregion of the

Bohemian-Moravian Highlands The Bohemian-Moravian Highlands (, colloquially ''Vysočina''; ) is a geomorphological macroregion and highland in the Czech Republic. Its highest peaks are the Javořice at and Devět skal in the north (). The Bohemian-Moravian Heights were p ...

within the

Bohemian Massif The Bohemian Massif ( or ''Český masiv'', or ''Böhmisches Massiv'') is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Germany, southern Poland and northern Austria. Th ...

. It borders other mesoregions of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. The highest peaks are Harusův kopec at above sea level, Špičák at , Mařenka at , Ještěnice at , Havlína at , and Kyjov at .

Geology

The

s, together with the Upper Svratka Highlands and Jevišovice Uplands threshold, form the Western-Moravian part of

Moldanubian Zone The Moldanubian Zone is in the regional geology of Europe a tectonic zone formed during the Variscan or Hercynian Orogeny (400 to 300 million years ago, during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods). The Moldanubian Zone crops out in the Bohemi ...

Pedology

The primary composition of the range is

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock (geology), rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian craton, cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an old ...

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 ...

and gneis.

Soil horizon A soil horizon is a layer parallel to the soil surface whose physical, chemical and biological characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath. Horizons are defined in many cases by obvious physical features, mainly colour and texture. ...

is mainly fluvisol and

cambisol A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon differentiation is weak. This is evident from weak, mostly brownish discolouration and/or structure formation in the soil pro ...

Geography

The area has a horseshoe shape that extends from

Tišnov Tišnov (; ) is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,200 inhabitants. Administrative division Tišnov consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 cens ...

in the east, to

Žďár nad Sázavou Žďár nad Sázavou (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The town is an industrial and tourist centre. It is known for the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, which is a UNESCO Wor ...

in the northwest and Jemnice in the southwest. The highlands have an area of and an average height of . The rivers that originates here include

Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...

Oslava The Oslava is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River. It flows through the Vysočina Region, Vysočina and South Moravian Region, South Moravian regions. At , it is the List of rivers of the Czech Rep ...

, and

Thaya The Thaya (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Austria, a right tributary of the Morava (river), Morava River. It flows through the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic and through Lower Austria in Austria. It is formed by the conflue ...

. The most populated settlements in the territory are

(smaller part),

, Velké Meziříčí,

Nové Město na Moravě Nové Město na Moravě (; ) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. It is known as a winter sports resort. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protecte ...

Dačice Dačice (; ) is a town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,200 inhabitants. It lies on the Moravian Thaya River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultur ...

Třešť Třešť (; ) is a town in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban mo ...

, and

Velká Bíteš Velká Bíteš (until 1924 Velká Byteš) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument ...

Vegetation

The mountain range is 47% forested, plantations only –

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

limes Limes may refer to: * ''Limes'' (Roman Empire), a border marker and defense system of the Roman Empire * ''Limes'' (Italian magazine), an Italian geopolitical magazine * ''Limes'' (Romanian magazine), a Romanian literary and political quarterly ma ...

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

s, birches.

Gallery

Cizkrajov, Monstserrat 01.jpg, Monserrat nearby

Cizkrajov Cizkrajov () is a municipality and village in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central E ...

Overview of Bítešská vrchovina from Harusův kopec in Nové Město na Moravě, Žďár nad Sázavou District.jpg, View from Harusův kopec Hlinné 06.JPG, Hlinné Hlinné 08.JPG, Hlinné pond Měřín, Pustina, Balinka river.jpg, Balinka stream Jihlava pod Templštejnem.JPG, Jihlava river PR Velká skála06272.JPG, Middle Jihlava canyon Pravý břeh06293.JPG, Middle Jihlava canyon (Velká skála)

References

* Geografický místopisný slovník, Academia, Praha, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Krizanov Highlands Mountain ranges of the Czech Republic Geography of the Vysočina Region Moravia Bohemia Highlands