Jizera Foothills
Foothill region in Poland and the Czech Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jizera Foothills or Frýdlant Hilly Land (Polish: Pogórze Izerskie; Czech: Frýdlantská pahorkatina) are a foothill region in the Western Sudetes, lying mainly in southwestern Poland and partly in the northern Czech Republic. The highest summit is Andělský vrch (572 m).[1]
| Jizera Foothills | |
|---|---|
| Frýdlant Hilly Land | |
Andělský vrch, the highest peak | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Andělský vrch |
| Elevation | 572 m (1,877 ft) |
| Geography | |
 Jizera Foothills in the geomorphological system of the Czech Republic | |
| Countries | Poland, Czech Republic |
| Voivodeship/ Region | Lower Silesian/ Liberec |
| Range coordinates | 51°7′N 15°17′E |
| Parent range | Western Sudetes |
Geography
The Jizera Foothills lie among the following Sudeten mesoregions: to the northeast are the Kaczawskie Foothills, to the east the Kaczawskie Mountains, to the southeast the Jelenia Góra Valley, to the south the Jizera Mountains, and to the west Eastern Upper Lusatia.
On the Czech side they occupy most of the Frýdlant Hook and cover 241 km2 (93 sq mi), with an average elevation of 359 m (1,178 ft).[2] Their relief resembles a gently undulating plateau tilted to the north-west, with the most prominent heights concentrated on the Jindřichovice Ridge.
On the Polish side, the region belongs to the macroregion of the Western Sudetic Foothills. The valley of the Bóbr forms its eastern boundary toward the Kaczawskie Foothills and the Kaczawskie Mountains.[3]
Geologically, the foothills are linked to the Krkonoše-Jizera pluton, with granites, gneisses and other metamorphic rocks overlain in many places by Quaternary sands and gravels. Isolated volcanic hills of basalt and phonolite also occur in the Czech part.
Nature
Among the best known protected areas of the Czech part is the Smědá river system, including the Meandry Smědé nature reserve and the Natura 2000 site of the same name. The protected stretch follows the river for about 23 km from Frýdlant to the Polish border and preserves valuable meanders, oxbows and habitats for species such as the green snaketail, brook lamprey and European bullhead.[4]
Another notable natural monument is Pohanské kameny near Višňová, a group of large granite boulders in the Jizera Foothills that are among the characteristic landmarks of the region.[5]