Králický Sněžník Mountains


The Králický Sněžník Mountains or Śnieżnik Mountains is a massif and mountain range in the Eastern Sudetes on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland.

Geomorphology

The Králický Sněžník Mountains is a mesoregion of the Eastern Sudetes within the Sudetes in the Bohemian Massif. All the highest mountains are located close to the Czech–Polish border or on the Czech side.
The largest mountains are:
  • Králický Sněžník,
  • Mały Śnieżnik,
  • Sušina,
  • Hraniční skály,
  • Podbělka,
  • Černá kupa,
  • Stříbrnická,
  • Babuše,
  • Uhlisko,
  • Slamník,

Geography

The territory has an area of, of which in Poland and in the Czech Republic.
Three main European watersheds pass through the Králický Sněžník Mountains and they meet at Klepáč mountain. Králický Sněžník forms an important hydrographic node, its territory belongs to three seas – the Black, North and Baltic Seas. The Morava River, which originates below the peak of Králický Sněžník, drains its waters into the Black Sea. The stream Lipkovský potok with its tributaries flows into the North Sea. The waters of the Eastern Neisse and its tributaries flow into the Baltic Sea.
Due to the terrain, there are no significant settlements here.

Geology

The territory of the massif is mainly formed by metamorphosed rocks – gneiss and schist. Other rocks that occur here are crystalline limestone and dolomite, amphibole schist, quartzite and quartzite schist. Marble, serpentinite and eclogite can be found in small quantities. The Sněžník marble is a decorative stone that has been used in numerous architectural monuments throughout the country.

Protection of nature

On the Polish side the mountain range is largely covered by the protected area called Śnieżnik Landscape Park. On the Czech side, an area of is protected as a national nature reserve.