Gurktal Alps
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| Gurktal Alps | |
|---|---|
 Wöllaner Nock, 2,145 m (7,037 ft) | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Eisenhut |
| Elevation | 2,441 m (8,009 ft) |
| Coordinates | 46°57′11″N 13°55′45″E / 46.95306°N 13.92917°E |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Country | Austria |
| States | Carinthia, Styria and Salzburg |
| Range coordinates | 46°57′N 13°56′E / 46.950°N 13.933°E |
| Parent range | Central Eastern Alps Carinthian-Styrian Alps (Noric Alps) |
The Gurktal Alps (German: Gurktaler Alpen, Slovene: Krške Alpe) is a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria which is named after the valley of the Gurk river. The range stretches west to Lake Millstatt and east to Neumarkter Sattel (north-northwest of Neumarkt in Steiermark). The highest peak is Eisenhut at 2,441m (8,009 ft).
Location
The range is located between the Mur Valley to the north (which separates it from the Niedere Tauern range) and the River Drava to the south, where it borders the Gailtal Alps and Karavanke ranges of the Southern Limestone Alps. In the west, the Gurktal Alps reach up to the Katschberg Pass and the Ankogel Group of the Hohe Tauern range. To the east, the Neumarkt Pass in Upper Styria separates it from the adjacent Lavanttal Alps.
Subdivisions
The Gurktal Alps can be divided into five subgroups:
- The Nock Mountains lie between the Liesertal and Flattnitzer Höhe. Their highest peak is the Eisenhut (2,441 m).
- The Metnitz Mountains lie between the Mur and Metnitz valleys. Their highest peak is the Goldachnock (2,171 m).
- The Mödring Chain lies between the Metnitz and Gurktal valleys. The highest peak is the Dorferecken (1,726 m)
- The Wimitz Mountains lie between the Gurk and Glan valleys through which flows the Wimitz river. Their highest peaks are the Schneebauerberg and the Hocheck (both 1,338 m)
At the southern end of the Gurktal Alps is the Klagenfurt Basin. Here there are seven smaller mountain chains:
- Magdalensberg (Lippekogel, 1,079 m)
- Ossiach Tauern (Taubenbühel 1,069 m)
- Glantal Highlands (Ulrichsberg, 1,022 m)
- Sattnitz (Tanzboden, 929 m)
- Feldkirchen-Moosburg Upland (Freudenberg, 817 m)
- St. Veit Upland (Buchberg, 808 m)
- Maria Saal Upland (Maria Saaler Berg, 746 m)
The Gurktal Alps are, along with the Lavanttal Alps to the east, sometimes classified as part of the Noric Alps. However, this term is not geologically justified.[1]
Peaks
The highest peaks are located within the Nock Mountains (Nockberge, from Nock meaning "rounded hilltop", cf. Nockerl) subgroup west of Flattnitz Pass, including Mt. Eisenhut, 2,441 m (8,009 ft), in the province of Styria. The Nationalpark Nockberge located along the scenic Nockalm Road in Carinthia has been a protected landscape area (IUCN V) since 1987. The Nock Mountains also stretch down to major Carinthian lakes such as the Millstätter See and Ossiacher See.
Other peaks include:
- Großer Rosennock, 2,440 m (8,010 ft)
- Hohe Pressing, 2,370 m (7,780 ft)
- Rinsennock, 2,334 m (7,657 ft)
