Landscapes and Landforms of Austria

Book excerpt: This book intends to identify and publicize the unique features of Austrian geomorphology. In a country, which stretches from the core of the European Alps to the Hungarian plain, there is huge variety of landforms and landscapes. This book reveals that variety. Part 1 sets the context of the Austrian landscape as a whole. Part 2 is the core of the volume and comprises a careful selection of the most outstanding landscapes in Austria. Each of the chapters results from detailed research conducted by an author over many years. Austria’s landscapes are especially attractive because of the great variety of topographic slopes, geologic foundations and the special landscape legacy from the Quaternary period. Glacial and Karst landscapes dominate, but there are superb examples of granite weathering landscapes and geologically recent volcanism. The book is lavishly illustrated with about 350 color images and is securely based on scientific scholarship.