Editing Sudetes

{{Short description|Mountain range in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name=Sudetes
| native_name = {{plainlist|
* {{native name|cs|Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie}}
* {{native name|de|Sudeten}}
* {{native name|pl|Sudety}}
* {{native name|hsb|Sudety}}}}
| photo=Śnieżne Kotły - panoramio (4).jpg
| photo_caption=[[Śnieżne Kotły]] in the [[Karkonosze National Park]]
| country= {{hlist|[[Czech Republic]]|[[Poland]]|[[Germany]]}}
| subdivision2_type= Regions/Voivodeships
| subdivision2= {{hlist|[[Ústí nad Labem Region|Ústí nad Labem]]|[[Liberec Region|Liberec]]|[[Hradec Králové Region|Hradec Králové]]|[[Pardubice Region|Pardubice]]|[[Olomouc Region|Olomouc]]|[[Moravian-Silesian Region|Moravian-Silesian]]|[[Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Lower Silesian]]|[[Opole Voivodeship|Opole]]|[[Saxony]]}}
| parent= 
| geology= 
| orogeny=[[Variscan orogeny]] (assembly)<br />[[Alpine orogeny]] (uplift)
| highest=[[Sněžka]]
| elevation_m=1603
| range_coordinates= {{coord|50.5|N|16|E|type:mountain_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates= {{coord|50|44|10|N|15|44|24|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline}}
| area_km2= 
| length_km=300 
| length_orientation=
| width_km= 
| width_orientation=
| map_image=Sudeten m.svg
| map_caption=Divisions of the Sudetes
}}
The '''Sudetes''' ({{IPAc-en|s|uː|ˈ|d|iː|t|iː|z}} {{respell|soo|DEE|teez}}), also known as the '''Sudeten Mountains''' or '''Sudetic Mountains''', is a [[Geomorphology|geomorphological]] subprovince of the [[Bohemian Massif]] province in [[Central Europe]], shared by the [[Czech Republic]], [[Poland]] and [[Germany]]. They consist mainly of [[mountain range]]s and are the highest part of the Bohemian Massif. They stretch from the [[Saxony|Saxon]] capital of [[Dresden]] in the northwest across to the region of [[Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Lower Silesia]] in Poland and to the city of [[Ostrava]] in the Czech Republic in the east. Geographically the Sudetes are a ''[[Mittelgebirge]]'' with some characteristics typical of high mountains.<ref name="Migon2008">{{cite journal |last=Migoń |first=Piort |author-link=Piotr Migoń |year=2008 |title=High-mountain elements in the geomorphology of the Sudetes, Bohemian Massif, and their significance |journal=[[Geographia Polonica]] | volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=101–116}}</ref> Its plateaus and subtle summit relief makes the Sudetes more akin to mountains of [[Northern Europe]] than to the [[Alps]].<ref name="Migon2008" />

[[File:GOPR Karkonosze.JPG|thumb|[[Sněžka]]]]
[[File:Kralicky-Sneznik-04.jpg|thumb|[[Králický Sněžník]]]]
[[File:Mufflon-01.jpg|thumb|[[Mouflon]]]]

In the east of the Sudetes, the [[Moravian Gate]] and [[Ostrava Basin]] separates from the [[Carpathian Mountains]]. The Sudetes' highest mountain is [[Sněžka]] ({{langx|pl|Śnieżka}}) at {{convert|1603|m|ft|abbr=on}}, which is also the highest mountain of the [[Czech Republic]], [[Bohemia]], [[Silesia]], and [[Lower Silesian Voivodeship]]. It lies in the [[Giant Mountains]] on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. [[Praděd]] (1,491&nbsp;m/4,893&nbsp;ft) in the [[Hrubý Jeseník]] mountains is the highest mountain of [[Moravia]]. Lusatia's highest point (1,072&nbsp;m/3,517&nbsp;ft) lies on [[Smrk (Jizera Mountains)|Smrk]] mountain in the [[Jizera Mountains]], and the Sudetes' highest mountain in Germany, which is also the country's highest mountain east of the river [[Elbe]], is [[Lausche]] (793&nbsp;m/2,600&nbsp;ft) in the [[Lusatian Mountains]]. The most notable rivers rising in the Sudetes are the [[Elbe]], [[Oder]], [[Spree (river)|Spree]], [[Morava (river)|Morava]], [[Bóbr]], [[Lusatian Neisse]], [[Eastern Neisse]], [[Jizera (river)|Jizera]] and [[Kwisa]]. The highest parts of the Sudetes are protected by national parks;<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> [[Karkonosze National Park|Karkonosze]] and [[Stołowe Mountains National Park|Stołowe (Table)]] in Poland and [[Krkonoše National Park|Krkonoše]] in the Czech Republic.

In the west, the Sudetes border with the [[Elbe Sandstone Mountains]]. The westernmost point of the Sudetes lies in the [[Dresden Heath]] (''Dresdner Heide''), the westernmost part of the [[West Lusatian Hill Country and Uplands]], in Dresden.

The [[Sudeten Germans]] (the German-speaking inhabitants of [[Czechoslovakia]]) as well as the [[Sudetenland]] (the border regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and [[Czech Silesia]] they inhabited) are named after the Sudetes.

== Etymology ==
The name ''Sudetes'' is derived from ''Sudeti montes'', a [[Latin]]ization of the name ''Soudeta ore'' used in the ''[[Geographia (Ptolemy)|Geographia]]'' by the Greco-Roman writer [[Ptolemy]] (Book 2, Chapter 10) {{circa|AD 150}} for a range of mountains in [[Germania]] in the general region of the modern Czech Republic.

There is no consensus about which mountains he meant, and he could for example have intended the [[Ore Mountains]], joining the modern Sudetes to their west, or even (according to Schütte) the [[Bohemian Forest]] (although this is normally considered to be equivalent to Ptolemy's Gabreta forest).<ref>{{citation |url=https://archive.org/stream/ptolemysmapsofno00schrich#page/141/mode/1up |page=141 |last=Schütte |title=Ptolemy's maps of northern Europe, a reconstruction of the prototype |publisher=Kjøbenhavn, H. Hagerup |year=1917}}</ref> The modern Sudetes are probably Ptolemy's Askiburgion mountains.<ref>{{citation |url=https://archive.org/stream/ptolemysmapsofno00schrich#page/56/mode/1up |page=56 |last=Schütte |title=Ptolemy's maps of northern Europe, a reconstruction of the prototype |publisher=Kjøbenhavn, H. Hagerup |year=1917}}</ref>

Ptolemy wrote "Σούδητα" in [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], which is a neuter plural. Latin ''mons'', however, is a masculine, hence Sudeti. The Latin version, and the modern geographical identification, is likely to be a scholastic innovation, as it is not attested in classical Latin literature. The meaning of the name is not known. In one hypothetical derivation, it means ''Mountains of [[Wild Boar]]s'', relying on [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] *su-, "pig". A better etymology perhaps is from Latin ''sudis'', plural ''sudes'', "spines", which can be used of spiny fish or spiny terrain.

== Subdivisions ==
{{See also|Geomorphological division of the Czech Republic}}
The Sudetes are usually divided into:
* [[Eastern Sudetes]], in the Czech Republic and Poland
** [[Golden Mountains (Sudetes)|Golden Mountains]]
** [[Hanušovice Highlands]]
** [[Hrubý Jeseník]] with [[Praděd]] mountain, {{convert|1491|m|ft|abbr=on}}
** [[Mohelnice Depression]]
** [[Nízký Jeseník]]
** [[Opawskie Mountains]]
** [[Králický Sněžník Mountains]]
** [[Zábřeh Highlands]]
* [[Central Sudetes]], in the Czech Republic and Poland
** [[Orlické Mountains]] with Mt. [[Velká Deštná]], {{convert|1115|m|ft|abbr=on}}
** [[Podorlicko Uplands]]
** [[Broumov Highlands]]
** [[Kłodzko Valley]]
** [[Bystrzyckie Mountains]]
** [[Bardzkie Mountains]]
** [[Stołowe Mountains]]
** [[Owl Mountains]]
** [[Krucze Mountains]]
** [[Stone Mountains]]
** [[Waldenburg Mountains]]
* [[Western Sudetes]], in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland
** [[Frýdlant Hills]]
** [[Giant Mountains]] with Mt. [[Sněžka]], {{convert|1603|m|ft|abbr=on}}
** [[Giant Mountains Foothills]]
** [[Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge]]
** [[Jizera Mountains]]
** [[Kaczawskie Mountains]]
** [[Kaczawskie Foothills]]
** [[Lusatian Mountains]]
** [[Lusatian Highlands]]
** [[Lusatian Gefilde]]
** [[West Lusatian Foothills]]
** [[East Lusatian Foothills]]
** [[Rudawy Janowickie]]
** [[Jelenia Góra Valley]]
** [[Zittau Basin]]
* [[Sudeten Foreland]]
** [[Strzegom Hills]]
** [[Świdnicka Plain]]
** [[Ślęża Massif]]
** [[Niemczańsko-Strzelińskie Hills]]
** [[Podsudeckie Depression]]
** [[Žulová Hilly Land]]
** [[Vidnava Lowland]]

High Sudetes ({{langx|pl|Wysokie Sudety}}, {{langx|cs|Vysoké Sudety}}, {{langx|de|Hochsudeten}}) is together name for the ranges of [[Giant Mountains]], [[Hrubý Jeseník]] and [[Králický Sněžník Mountains]].

== Climate ==
[[File:Großen Iserwiese.JPG|thumb|[[Alpine tundra|Hala]] Izerska (Polish [[Pole of Cold]]) in the [[Jizera Mountains]]]]

The highest mountains, those located along the Czech–Polish border have annual [[precipitation]]s around {{convert|1500|mm|in}}.<ref name="trel2008" /> The [[Table Mountains]], which reach {{convert|919|m|ft}} in elevation, have precipitations ranging from {{convert|750|mm|in}} at lower locations to {{convert|920|mm|in}} in the upper parts, with July being the rainiest month. Snow cover at the Table Mountains typically last 70 to 95 days depending on altitude.<ref name="Glinaetal2016">{{cite journal |last1=Glina |first1=Bartłomiej |last2=Malkiewicz |first2=Małgorzata |last3=Mendyk |first3=Łukasz |last4=Bogacz |first4=Adam |last5=Woźniczka |first5=Przemysław |year=2016 |title=Human-affected disturbances in vegetation cover and peatland development in the late Holocene recorded in shallow mountain peatlands (Central Sudetes, SW Poland) |journal=[[Boreas (journal)|Boreas]] | volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=294–307 |doi=10.1111/bor.12203|s2cid=133200850}}</ref>

== Vegetation ==
Settlement, logging and clearance has left forest pockets in the foothills with dense and continuous forest being found in the upper parts of the mountains.<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> Due to logging in the last centuries little remains of the [[Broad-leaved tree|broad-leaf]] trees like [[beech]], [[Acer pseudoplatanus|sycamore]], [[Fraxinus excelsior|ash]] and [[Tilia cordata|littleleaf linden]] that were once common in the Sudetes. Instead [[Norway spruce]] was planted in their place in the early 19th century, in some places amounting to [[monoculture]]s.<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> To provide more space for spruce plantations various [[peatland]]s were drained in the 19th and 20th century.<ref name="Glinaetal2016"/> Some spruce plantations have suffered severe damage as the seeds used came from lowland specimens that were not adapted to mountain conditions.<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> [[Abies alba|Silver fir]] grow naturally in the Sudetes being more widespread in past times, before clearance since the [[Late Middle Ages]] and subsequent industrial pollution reduced the stands.<ref name="Barz" />

Many arctic-alpine and [[alpine plant|alpine]] [[vascular plant]]s have a [[disjunct distribution]] being notably absent from the central Sudetes despite suitable habitats. Possibly this is the result a warm period during the [[Holocene]] (last 10,000 years) which wiped out cold-adapted vascular plants in the medium-sized mountains of the central Sudetes where there was no higher ground that could serve as [[Refugium (population biology)|refugia]].<ref name="KwiaKra2016">{{cite journal |last1=Kwiatkowski |first1=Paweł |last2=Krahulec |first2=František |year=2016 |title=Disjunct Distribution Patterns in Vascular Flora of the Sudetes |journal=Ann. Bot. Fennici |volume=53 |issue=1–2 |pages=91–102 |doi=10.5735/085.053.0217|s2cid=86962680}}</ref>{{efn-ua|Not to be confused with a [[glacial refugium]].}} Besides altitude the distribution of some alpine plants is influenced by soil. This is the case of ''[[Aster alpinus]]'' that grows preferentially on [[calcium|calcareous]] ground.<ref name="KwiaKra2016" /> Other alpine plants such as ''[[Cardamine amara]]'', ''[[Epilobium anagallidifolium]]'', ''[[Luzula sudetica]]'' and ''[[Solidago virgaurea]]'' occur beyond their [[altitudinal zonation]] in very humid areas.<ref name="KwiaKra2016" />

[[Peatland]]s are common in the mountains occurring on high plateaus or in valley bottoms. [[Fen]]s occur at slopes.<ref name="Glinaetal2016" />

=== Timber line ===
The higher mountains of the Sudetes lie above the [[Tree line|timber line]] which is made up of Norway spruce.<ref name="trel2008">{{cite journal |last1=Treml |first1=Václav |last2=Jankovská |first2=Vlasta |last3=Libor |first3=Petr |year=2008 |title=Holocene dynamics of the alpine timberline in the High Sudetes |journal=Biologia |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=73–80 |doi=10.2478/s11756-008-0021-3|doi-access=free |bibcode=2008Biolg..63...73T}}</ref><ref name="Krizek2007" /> Spruces in wind-exposed areas display features such as [[flag tree]] disposition of branches, tilted stems and elongated stem cross sections.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wistuba |first1=Małgorzata |last2=Papciak |first2=Tomasz |last3=Malik |first3=Ireneusz |last4=Barnaś |first4=Agnieszka |last5=Polowy |first5=Marta |last6=Pilorz |first6=Wojciech |year=2014 |title=Wzrost dekoncentryczny świerka pospolitego jako efekt oddziaływania dominującego kierunku wiatru (przykład z Hrubégo Jeseníka, Sudety Wschodnie) |trans-title=Eccentric growth of Norway spruce trees as a result of prevailing winds impact (example from Hrubý Jeseník, Eastern Sudetes) |journal=Studia I Materiały CEPL W Rogowie |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=63–73 |language=pl}}</ref> Forest-free areas above the timber line have increased historically by [[deforestation]]<ref name="KwiaKra2016" /> yet lowering of the timber line by human activity is minimal.<ref name="Krizek2007" /> Areas above the timber line appear discontinuously as "islands" in the Sudetes.<ref name="trel2008" /> In the [[Giant Mountains]] the timber line lies at ''c''. 1230&nbsp;m a.s.l. while to the southeast in the [[Hrubý Jeseník]] mountains it lie at ''c''.  1310&nbsp;m a.s.l.<ref name="trel2008" /> Part of the Hrubý Jeseník mountains have been above the timber line for no less than 5000 years.<ref name="trel2008" /> Mountains rise considerably above the timber line, at most 400&nbsp;m, a characteristic that sets the Sudetes apart from other ''[[Mittelgebirge]]'' of [[Central Europe]].<ref name="Migon2008" />

== Geology ==
Geological research has been hampered by the multinational geography of the Sudetes with and the limitation of studies to state boundaries.<ref name="RozyMig2017" />{{efn-ua|[[Alfred Jahn]]'s [[geomorphology|geomorphological]] studies of the Polish Sudetes in 1953 and 1980 exemplify this.<ref name="RozyMig2017" />}}

=== Bedrock ===
[[File:Laurussia Euramerica.svg|thumb|300px|Reconstruction of the [[Euramerica|Old Red Continent]] against which the [[terrane]]s or "building blocks" of the Sudetes [[continental collision|collided]] in [[Paleozoic|Late Paleozoic]] times. The area of present-day Sudetes lies near the eastern end of [[Avalonia]].]]
The [[igneous rock|igneous]] and [[metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] rocks of the Sudetes originated during the [[Variscan orogeny]] and its aftermath.<ref name="Migon1996" /> The Sudetes are the northeasternmost accessible part of Variscan orogen as in the [[North European Plain]] the orogen is buried beneath sediments.<ref name="Mazuretal2006">{{cite journal |last1=Mazur |first1=Stanisław |last2=Alexandrowski |first2=Paweł |last3=Kryza |first3=Ryszard |last4=Oberc-Dziedzic |first4=Teresa |year=2006 |title=The Variscan Orogen in Poland |journal=Geological Quarterly |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=89–118}}</ref> [[Plate tectonics|Plate tectonic]] movements during the Variscan orogeny assembled together four major and two to three lesser [[tectonostratigraphic terrane]]s.<ref name="MazurAlek2002" />{{efn-ua|Geologist Tom McCann lists the main Variscan terranes that make up much of the Sudetes as the Moldanubian, Góry-Sowie-Klodzko, Teplá Barriandian, Lusatia-Izera terrane, Brunovistulian terrane. The first three lie in the central Sudetes while the last two in the [[Western Sudetes|west]] and [[Central Sudetes|central]] Sudetes.<ref name="TM2008" />}} The assemblage of the terranes ought to have involved the [[continental collision|closure]] of at least two [[ocean basin]]s containing [[oceanic crust]] and marine sediments.<ref name="TM2008" /> This is reflected in the [[ophiolite]]s, [[High and low titanium basalts|MORB-basalts]], [[blueschist]]s and [[eclogite]]s that occur in-between terranes.<ref name="MazurAlek2002">{{cite journal |last1=Mazur |first1=S. |last2=Aleksandrowski |first2=P. |year=2002 |title=Collage tectonics in the northeasternmost part of the Variscan Belt: the Sudetes, Bohemian Massif |doi=10.1144/gsl.sp.2002.201.01.12 |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |volume=201 |issue=1 |pages=237–277 |bibcode=2002GSLSP.201..237A|s2cid=140166878}}</ref> Various terranes of the Sudetes are likely extensions of the [[Armorican terrane]] while other terranes may be the fringes of the ancient [[Baltica]] continent.<ref name="Mazuretal2006" /> One possibility for the amalgamation of terranes in the Sudetes is that the Góry Sowie-Kłodzko terrane collided with the Orlica-Śnieżnik terrane causing the closure of a small oceanic basin. This event led to [[obduction]] of the [[Central Sudetic ophiolite]] in the Devonian period. In the Early Carboniferous the joint Góry Sowie-Kłodzko-Orlica-Śnieżnik terrane collided with the Brunovistulian terrane. This last terrane was part of the [[Euramerica|Old Red Continent]] and could correspond either to [[Baltica]] or the eastern tip of the narrow Avalonia terrane. Also by the Early Carboniferous the Saxothuringian terrane collided with the Góry Sowie-Kłodzko-Orlica-Śnieżnik terrane closing the [[Rheic Ocean]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mazur |first1=Stanisław |last2=Aleksandrowski |first2=Paweł |last3=Turniak |first3=Krzysztof |last4=Awdankiewicz |first4=Marek |date=2007 |title=Granitoids in Poland |chapter=Geology, tectonic evolution and Late Palaeozoic magmatism of Sudetes – an overview |volume=1 |pages=59–87}}</ref>

Once the main phase of deformation of the orogeny was over [[sedimentary basin|basins]] that had formed in-between metamorphic rock massifs were filled by [[sedimentary rock]] in the [[Devonian]] and [[Carboniferous]] periods.<ref name="TM2008">{{cite book |last=McCann |first=Tom |chapter=Sudetes |editor-last=McCann |editor-first=Tom |date=2008 |title=The Geology of Central Europe, Volume 1: Pre-Cambrian and Palaeozoic |volume=1 |location=London |publisher=The Geological Society |page=496 |isbn=978-1-86239-245-8}}</ref> During and after sedimentation large [[granitoid|granitic]] [[pluton (geology)|plutons]] intruded the [[continental crust|crust]]. Viewed in a [[geological map|map]] today these plutons make up about 15% the Sudetes.<ref name="Migon1996">{{cite journal |last1=Migoń |first1=Piotr |author-link=Piotr Migoń |year=1996 |title=Evolution of granite landscapes in the Sudetes (Central Europe): some problems of interpretation |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=25–37 |doi=10.1016/s0016-7878(96)80065-4|bibcode=1996PrGA..107...25M}}</ref><ref name="TM2008" /> Granites are of [[Granite#Physical properties|S-type]].<ref name="Mazuretal2006" /> The granites and [[gneiss|grantic-gneisses]] of [[Izera]] in the west Sudetes are [[Anorogenic magmatism|disassociated]] from orogeny and thought to have formed during [[rift]]ing along a [[passive continental margin]].<ref name="Obercetal2005">{{cite journal |first1=T. |last1=Oberc-Dziedzic |last2=Pin |first2=C. |last3=Kryza |first3=R. |year=2005 |title=Early Palaeozoic crustal melting in an extensional setting: petrological and Sm–Nd evidence from the Izera granite-gneisses, Polish Sudetes |journal=[[International Journal of Earth Sciences]] | volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=354–368 |doi=10.1007/s00531-005-0507-y |bibcode=2005IJEaS..94..354O|s2cid=129243888}}</ref>{{efn-ua|Contrary to this case S-type granites are typically thought to come into existence concurrently or slightly after orogeny.<ref name="Obercetal2005" />}} The Karkonosze Granite, also in the west Sudetes, have been dated to have formed ''c''. 318 million years ago at the beginning of the Variscan orogeny.<ref name="Awdanetal2010">{{cite journal |last1=Awdankiewicz |first1=Marek |last2=Awdankiewicz |first2=Honorata |last3=Kryza |first3=Ryszard |last4=Rodinov |first4=Nickolay |year=2009 |title=SHRIMP zircon study of a micromonzodiorite dyke in the Karkonosze Granite, Sudetes (SW Poland): age constraints for late Variscan magmatism in Central Europe |journal=[[Geological Magazine]] | volume=147 |issue=1 |pages=77–85 |doi=10.1017/S001675680999015X|s2cid=129844097}}</ref> The Karkonosze Granite is [[intrusion (geology)|intruded]] by somewhat younger [[lamprophyre]] [[dyke (geology)|dykes]].<ref name="Awdanetal2010" />

A NW-SE to WNW-ESE oriented [[fault (geology)|strike-slip fault]] —the Intra-Sudetic fault— runs through the length of the Sudetes.<ref name="TM2008" /> The Intra-Sudetic fault is parallel with the [[Upper Elbe fault]] and [[Middle Oder fault]].<ref name="Mazuretal2006" /> Other main faults at the sudetes are also NW-SE oriented, [[Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults|dextral]] and of strike slip type. These include the Tłumaczów-Sienna Fault and the Marginal Sudetic Fault.<ref name="Oberc1991">{{cite journal |last1=Józef |first1=Oberc |year=1991 |title=Systems of main longitudinal strike-slip faults in the vicinity of the Góry Sowie Block (Sudetes) |url=https://gq.pgi.gov.pl/article/viewFile/8523/pdf_589 |journal=Kwartalnik Geologiczny |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=403–420}}</ref>

=== Volcanism and thermal waters ===
[[File:Ostrzyca 01.jpg|thumb|[[Ostrzyca (hill)|Ostrzyca]], an eroded volcano in the northern Sudetes]]
There are remnants of [[lava flow]]s and [[volcanic plugs]] in the Sudetes.<ref name="Berkeetal2002" /> The [[volcanic rock]]s making up these [[outcrop]]s are of [[mafic]] chemistry and include [[basanite]] and represent episodes of volcanism in the [[Oligocene]] and [[Miocene]] periods.<ref name="Berkeetal2002" />{{efn-ua|Some volcanic rocks may be as young as of [[Pliocene|Early Pliocene]] age.<ref name="Berkeetal2002" />}} Volcanism affected not only the Sudetes but also parts of the [[Sudeten Foreland|Sudetic foreland]] being part of a SW-NE oriented Bohemo-Silesian Belt of volcanic rocks.<ref name="Berkeetal2002">{{cite journal |last1=Birkenmajer |first1=Krzysztof |last2=Pécskay |first2=Zóltan |last3=Grabowski |first3=Jacek |last4=Lorenc |first4=Marek W. |last5=Zagożdżon |first5=Paweł P. |year=2002 |title=Radiometric dating of the Tertiary volcanics in Lower Silesia, Poland. II. K-Ar and palaeomagnetic data from Neogene basanites near Lądek Zdrój, Sudetes Mts |journal=Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae |volume=72 |pages=119–129}}</ref> [[mantle (geology)|Mantle]] [[xenolith]]s have been recovered from the lavas of a volcano at [[Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge]] in the Czech western Sudetes.<ref name="Ackermanetal2012">{{cite journal |last1=Ackerman |first1=Lukáš |last2=Petr |first2=Špaček |last3=Medaris, Jr. |first3=Gordon |last4=Hegner |first4=Ernst |last5=Svojtka |first5=Martin |last6=Ulrych |first6=Jaromír |year=2012 |title=Geochemistry and petrology of pyroxenite xenoliths from Cenozoic alkaline basalts, Bohemian Massif |url=http://www.jgeosci.org/content/jgeosci.125_ackerman.pdf |journal=[[Journal of Geosciences]] | volume=57 |pages=199–219 |doi=10.3190/jgeosci.125|doi-access=free}}</ref> These [[pyroxenite]] xenoliths arrived to surface from approximate depths of 35, 70 and 73&nbsp;km and indicate a complex history for the mantle beneath the Sudetes.<ref name="Ackermanetal2012" />

There are [[thermal spring]]s in the Sudetes with measured temperatures of 29 to 44&nbsp;°C. Drilling has revealed the existence of waters at 87&nbsp;°C at depths of 2000&nbsp;m. These modern waters are believed to be associated to the [[Cenozoic|Late Cenozoic]] volcanism in Central Europe.<ref>{{cite conference |url=https://www.geothermal-energy.org/pdf/IGAstandard/WGC/2000/R0903.PDF |title=The Sudetic geothermal region of Poland–new findings and further prospects |last1=Dowgiałło |first1=Jan |year=2000 |book-title=Proceedins of the World Geothermal Congress |pages=1089–1094 |location=Kyushu–Tohoku, Japan |conference=World Geothermal Congress}}</ref>

=== Uplift and landforms ===
[[File:Szczeliniec wielki.JPG|thumb|[[Escarpment]] at [[Szczeliniec Wielki]], [[Table Mountains]]]]
The Sudetes forms the NE border of the [[Bohemian Massif]].<ref name="Mazuretal2006" /> In detail the Sudetes is made up of a series of massifs that are rectangular and rhomboid in plan view.<ref name="Piotr2011" /> These mountains corresponds to [[horst (geology)|horsts]] and [[dome (geology)|domes]] separated by basins, including [[graben]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Migoń |first=Piotr |author-link=Piotr Migoń |date=1997 |chapter=Tertiary etchsurfaces in the Sudetes Mountains, SW Poland: a contribution to the pre-Quaternary morphology of Central Europe |title=Palaeosurfaces: Recognition, Reconstruction and Palaeoenvironmental Interpretation |editor-last=Widdowson |editor-first=M. |location=London |publisher=The Geological Society |series=Geological Society Special Publication |issue=120}}</ref> The mountains took their present form after the Late Mesozoic [[regression (geology)|retreat of the seas]] from the area which left the Sudetes subject to denudation for at least 65 million years.<ref name="Piotr2011" /> This meant that during the [[Late Cretaceous]] and [[Paleogene|Early Cenozoic]] 8 to 4&nbsp;km of rock was eroded from the top of what is now the Sudetes.<ref name="Aramowiczetal2006">{{cite journal |last1=Aramowicz |first1=Aleksander |last2=Anczkiewicz |first2=Aneta A. |last3=Mazur |first3=Stanisław |year=2006 |title=Fission-track dating of apatite from the Góry Sowie Massif, Polish Sudetes, NE Bohemian Massif: implications for post-Variscan denudation and uplift |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233698992 |journal= Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie - Abhandlungen|volume=182 |issue=3 |pages=221–229 |doi=10.1127/0077-7757/2006/0046}}</ref> Concurrently with the Cenozoic denudation the climate cooled due to the [[plate tectonics|northward drift]] of Europe. The [[continental collision|collision]] between Africa and Europe has resulted in the deformation and uplift of the Sudetes.<ref name="Piotr2011">{{cite journal |last1=Migoń |first1=Piotr |author-link=Piotr Migoń |year=2011 |title=Geomorphic Diversity of the Sudetes – Effects of the structure and global change superimposed |journal=[[Geographia Polonica]] | volume=2 |pages=93–105}}</ref> As such the uplift is related to the contemporary [[Alpine orogeny|rise of the Alps]] and [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]].<ref name="Piotr2011" /><ref name="RozyMig2017">{{cite journal |last1=Różycka |first1=Milena |last2=Migoń |first2=Piotr |author-link2=Piotr Migoń |year=2017 |title=Tectonic geomorphology of the Sudetes Mountains (Central Europe) – A review and re-apprisal |journal=Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae |volume=87 |pages=275–300 |doi=10.14241/asgp.2017.016|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{efn-ua|[[Fission track dating]] yields various possibilities about the Late Cenozoic uplift of the Sudetes. Possibly the last uplift pulse begun 7 to 5 million years ago.<ref name="Aramowiczetal2006" />}} The acceleration of uplift of the Sudetes occurred during the Middle Miocene because of the Bohemian Massif's growth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sobczyk |first=Artur |last2=Worobiec |first2=Elżbieta |last3=Olkowicz |first3=Marcin |last4=Szczygieł |first4=Jacek |date=15 April 2024 |title=Mid-Miocene onset of the NE Bohemian Massif (SW Poland, Europe) growth, landscape evolution, and paleoenvironmental changes unraveled using paleokarst sediment palynology |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018224000968 |journal=[[Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]] |language=en |volume=640 |pages=112107 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112107 |access-date=3 September 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref> Uplift was accomplished by the creation or reactivation of numerous [[fault (geology)|faults]] leading to a reshaping of the relief by [[cycle of erosion|renewed erosion]].<ref name="Migon1996" /> Various "hanging valleys" attest to this uplift.<ref name="RozyMig2017" /> [[Block tectonics]] has uplifted or sunken [[continental crust|crustal]] blocks. While the Late Cenozoic uplift has uplifted the Sudetes as a whole some [[graben]]s precede this uplift.<ref name="Oberc1991" />
[[File:Pielgrzymy - fotopolska.eu (85195).jpg|thumb|[[Tor (landform)|Tor]] landform made up of granite in the Sudetes]]
[[Weathering]] during the Cenozoic led to the formation of an [[etchplain]] in parts of Sudetes. While this etchplain has been eroded various landforms and weathering mantles have been suggested to attest its former existence.<ref name="Migon1996" /> At present the mountain range shows a remarkable [[geodiversity|diversity of landforms]].<ref name="Piotr2011" /> Some of the landforms present are [[escarpment]]s, [[inselberg]]s, [[bornhardt]]s, [[Granite dome|granitic domes]], [[tor (rock formation)|tors]], [[flared slope]]s and [[weathering pit]]s.<ref name="Migon1996" /> Various escarpments have originated from [[fault (geology)|faults]] and may reach heights of up to 500&nbsp;m.<ref name="RozyMig2017" /> To the northeast the Sudetes is separated from the Sudetic foreland by a sharp [[mountain front]] made up of an escarpment linked to the Sudetic Marginal Fault.<ref name="ML1998" /> Near [[Kaczawa]] this escarpment reaches 80 to 120&nbsp;m in height. The relative influence of [[Pliocene]]-[[Quaternary]] [[tectonics|tectonic movements]] and erosion in shaping the mountain landscape may vary along the northern front of the Sudetes.<ref name="ML1998">{{cite journal |last1=Migoń |first1=Piotr |last2=Łach |first2=Janusz |year=1998 |title=Geomorphological evidence of neotectonics in the Kaczawa sector of the Sudetic Marginal Fault, southwestern Poland |url=https://geojournals.pgi.gov.pl/gs/article/viewFile/15503/13097 |journal=Geologia Sudetica |volume=31 |pages=307–316}}</ref>

During the [[Quaternary glaciation]]s the [[Giant Mountains]] was the most glaciated part of the Sudetes. Evidence of this are its [[glacial cirque]]s and the [[glacial valley]]s that develop next to it.<ref name="Migon2008" /> The precise timing of the glaciations in the Sudetes is poorly constrained.<ref name="Migon2008" /> Parts of the Sudetes remained free from [[glacier]] ice developing [[permafrost]] soils and [[periglacial]] landforms such as [[rock glacier]]s, [[nivation]] hollows, [[patterned ground]], [[blockfield]]s, [[solifluction]] landforms, [[blockstream]]s, [[tor (landform)|tors]] and [[cryoplanation]] terraces.<ref name="Krizek2007">{{cite book |last=Křížek |first=M. |date=2007 |chapter=Periglacial landforms above the alpine timberline in the High Sudetes |title=Geomorphological variations |chapter-url=https://web.natur.cuni.cz/geografie/vzgr/monografie/gm/gm_krizek.pdf |editor-last=Goudie |editor-first=A.S. |editor-link=Andrew Goudie (geographer) |editor-last2=Kalvoda |editor-first2=J. |location=Prague|publisher=ProGrafiS Publ. |pages=313–338}}</ref> The occurrence or not of these periglacial landforms depends on altitude, the steepness and [[Aspect (geography)|direction]] of slopes and the [[lithology|underlying rock type]].<ref name="Krizek2007" />

=== Mass wasting ===
Other than [[debris flow]]s there is little contemporary [[mass wasting]] in the mountains.<ref name="Migon2008" /> [[Avalanche]]s are common in the Sudetes.<ref name="Migon2008" />

== History ==
[[File:536viki Karpacz. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg|thumb|[[Karpacz]]]]
[[File:Kościół Wang - panoramio - Jola Sik.jpg|thumb|[[Vang Stave Church]]]]
The area around the Sudetes had by the 12th century been relatively densely settled<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> with agriculture and settlements expanding further in the [[High Middle Ages]] from the 13th century onward.<ref name="Glinaetal2016" /> The majority of settlers were Germans from neighbouring Silesia, founding typical ''[[Waldhufendorf|Waldhufendörfer]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Higounet|title=Die deutsche Ostsiedlung im Mittelalter|pages=167|language=de}}</ref> As this trend went on [[thinning]] of forest and deforestation had turned clearly [[Sustainable development|unsustainable]] by the 14th century.<ref name="Barz">{{cite report |author-last=Barzdajn |author-first=Wladyslaw |year=2004 |title=Report of the second (20–22 September 2001, Valsaín, Spain) and third (17–19 October 2002, Kostrzyca, Poland) meetings |chapter=Rehabilitation of silver fir (''Abies alba'' Mill) populations in the Sudetes |pages=45–51}}</ref> In the 15th and 16th centuries agriculture had reached the inner part of [[Table Mountains]] in the [[Central Sudetes]].<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> Destruction and degradation of the Sudetes forest peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries<ref name="Barz" /> with demand of firewood coming from [[Forest glass|glasshouses]] that operated through the area in the [[early modern period]].<ref name="Mazurski1986">{{cite journal |last1=Mazurski |first1=Krzysztof R. |year=1986 |title=The destruction of forests in the polish Sudetes Mountains by industrial emissions |journal=[[Forest Ecology and Management]] | volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=303–315 |doi=10.1016/0378-1127(86)90158-1|bibcode=1986ForEM..17..303M}}</ref>

Some limited form of [[forest management]] begun in the 18th century<ref name="Barz" /> while in the [[industrial age]] demand for firewood was sustained by metallurgic industries in the settlements and cities around the mountains.<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> In the 19th century the [[Central Sudetes]] had an economic boom with sandstone quarrying and a flourishing tourism industry centered on the natural scenery. Despite this there was at least since the 1880s a trend of depopulation of villages and hamlets which continued into the 20th century.<ref name="MigonLatocha2013" /> Since [[World War II]] various areas that were cleared of forest have been re-naturalized.<ref name="MigonLatocha2013" /> Industrial activity across Europe has caused considerable damage to the forests as [[acid rain]] and [[Toxic heavy metal|heavy metals]] has arrived with westerly and southwesterly winds.<ref name="Mazurski1986" /> [[Abies alba|Silver firs]] have proven particularly vulnerable to industrial [[soil contamination]].<ref name="Barz" />

=== Sudetes and "Sudetenland" ===
[[File:Osowka 0005.jpg|thumb|[[Project Riese]], [[Owl Mountains]]]]
After [[World War I]], the name ''[[Sudetenland]]'' came into use to describe areas of the [[First Czechoslovak Republic]] with large [[Ethnic Germans|ethnic German]] populations. In 1918, the short-lived rump state of [[Republic of German-Austria|German-Austria]] proclaimed a [[Province of the Sudetenland]] in northern [[Moravia]] and [[Austrian Silesia]] around the city of [[Opava]] (''Troppau'').

The term was used in a wider sense when on 1 October 1933 [[Konrad Henlein]] founded the [[Sudeten German Party]] and in [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] parlance ''Sudetendeutsche'' ([[Sudeten Germans]]) referred to all autochthonous ethnic [[Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)|Germans in Czechoslovakia]]. They were heavily clustered in the entire mountainous periphery of Czechoslovakia—not only in the former Moravian ''Provinz Sudetenland'' but also along the northwestern Bohemian borderlands with German [[Lower Silesia]], [[Saxony]] and [[Bavaria]], in an area formerly called [[Province of German Bohemia|German Bohemia]]. In total, the German minority population of interwar Czechoslovakia numbered around 20% of the total national population.

Sparking the [[Sudeten Crisis]], [[Adolf Hitler]] got his future enemies Britain and France to concede the ''Sudetenland'' with most of the [[Czechoslovak border fortifications]] in the 1938 [[Munich Agreement]], leaving the remainder of Czechoslovakia shorn of its natural borders and buffer zone, finally [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|occupied]] by Germany in March 1939. After being annexed by Nazi Germany, much of the region was redesignated as the ''[[Reichsgau Sudetenland]]''.

After [[World War II]], most of the previous population of the Sudetes was forcibly [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expelled]] on the basis of the [[Potsdam Agreement]] and the [[Beneš decrees]], and the region was resettled by new Polish and Czechoslovak citizens. A considerable proportion of the Czechoslovak populace thereafter strongly objected to the use of the term ''Sudety''. In the Czech Republic the designation ''Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie'' is used in academic context and usually only the discrete Czech names for the individual mountain ranges (e.g. Giant Mountains) appear, as under [[#Subdivisions|Subdivisions]] above.

== Economy and tourism ==
[[File:Samotnia noca 01.jpg|thumb|Winter in the [[Giant Mountains]]. Polish refuge – Samotnia (1195&nbsp;m a.s.l.)]]
Part of the economy of the Sudetes is dedicated to tourism. [[Coal mining in Poland|Coal mining]] towns like [[Wałbrzych]] have re-oriented their economies towards tourism since the decline of mining in the 1980s.<ref name="Mazurski">{{cite journal |last1=Mazurski |first1=Krzysztof R. |year=2000 |title=Geographical perspectives on Polish tourism |journal=GeoJournal |volume=50 |issue=2/3 |pages=173–179 |doi=10.1023/a:1007180910552|bibcode=2000GeoJo..50..173M |s2cid=153221684}}</ref> As of 2000 scholar Krzysztof R. Mazurski judged that the Sudetes, much like [[Geography of Poland|Poland's Baltic coast]] and the [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]], were unlikely to attract much foreign tourism.<ref name="Mazurski" /> [[Sandstone]] was quarried in Sudetes during the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref name="MigonLatocha2013">{{cite journal |last1=Migoń |first1=Piotr |author-link=Piotr Migoń |last2=Latocha |first2=Agnieszka |year=2013 |title=Human interactions with the sandstone landscape of central Sudetes |journal=[[Applied Geography]] | volume=42 |pages=206–216 |doi=10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.03.015|bibcode=2013AppGe..42..206M}}</ref> Likewise [[volcanic rock]] has also been quarried<ref name="Berkeetal2002" /> to such degree untouched volcanoes are scarce.<ref name="Mig2015">{{cite journal |last1=Migoń |first1=Piotr |author-link=Piotr Migoń |last2=Pijet-Migoń |first2=Edyta |year=2015 |title=Overlooked Geomorphological Component of Volcanic Geoheritage – Diversity and Perspectives for Tourism Industry, Pogórze Kaczawskie Region, SW Poland |journal=[[Geoheritage]] | volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=333–350 |doi=10.1007/s12371-015-0166-8|doi-access=free}}</ref> Sandstone labyrinths have been a notable tourist attraction since the 19th century with considerable investments being done in projecting trails some of which involve rock engineering.<ref name="MigonLatocha2013" />

In the Sudetes there are several [[spa town]]s with [[Sanatorium|sanatoria]]: [[Jeseník]], [[Velké Losiny]], [[Bludov (Šumperk District)|Bludov]], [[Lipová-lázně]], [[Janské Lázně]] and [[Karlova Studánka]] in the Czech Republic, and [[Kudowa-Zdrój]], [[Polanica-Zdrój]], [[Duszniki-Zdrój]], [[Lądek-Zdrój]] and [[Jedlina-Zdrój]] in Poland. In many places the tourist base is developed  – hotels, guest houses and ski infrastructure.

The nearest international airports are [[Dresden Airport]] in [[Dresden]] and [[Wrocław Airport]] in [[Wrocław]].

=== Notable towns ===
Towns in this area with more than 10,000 inhabitants include:

; Poland
{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bielawa]]
* [[Bogatynia]]
* [[Boguszów-Gorce]]
* [[Dzierżoniów]]
* [[Głuchołazy]]
* [[Jawor]]
* [[Jelenia Góra]]
* [[Kamienna Góra]]
* [[Kłodzko]]
* [[Kowary]]
* [[Lubań]]
* [[Nowa Ruda]]
* [[Strzegom]]
* [[Świdnica]]
* [[Świebodzice]]
* [[Wałbrzych]]
* [[Ząbkowice Śląskie]]
* [[Zgorzelec]]
{{Div col end}}

; Czech Republic
{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bruntál]]
* [[Jablonec nad Nisou]]
* [[Jeseník]]
* [[Krnov]]
* [[Liberec]]
* [[Náchod]]
* [[Šumperk]]
* [[Trutnov]]
* [[Vrchlabí]]
* [[Zábřeh]]
{{Div col end}}

; Germany
{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bautzen]]
* [[Bischofswerda]]
* [[Dresden]]
* [[Ebersbach-Neugersdorf]]
* [[Görlitz]]
* [[Kamenz]]
* [[Löbau]]
* [[Neustadt in Sachsen]]
* [[Radeberg]]
* [[Zittau]]
{{Div col end}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
Śnieżne Kotły, Karkonosze.jpg|[[Śnieżne Kotły]]
Pielgrzymy.jpg|[[:pl:Pielgrzymy|Pielgrzymy]]
SzczeliniecWielki.jpg|"Hell" on Szczeliniec Wielki, [[Table Mountains]]
Sokolik-FilarZachodni.JPG|[[:pl:Góry Sokole|Góry Sokole]]
Widok na Sokole Góry.JPG|Góry Sokole
Masyw Starościnskich Skał.JPG|[[Rudawy Janowickie]]
MG 2763-HDR (tz).jpg|[[Colourful lakelets]]
Szczeliniec Wielki @.jpg|[[Table Mountains]]
Karkonoski Park Narodowy – Wodospad Kamieńczyka 02.jpg|[[Kamieńczyk Falls]]
Widok z Zygmuntowki.jpg|A view from Zygmuntówka refuge, [[Owl Mountains|Owl Mountain]] range (''Góry Sowie'')
2006.02 Organy1.jpg|[[:pl:Małe Organy Myśliborskie|Małe Organy Myśliborskie]]
Trojmezí CZ-PL-DE.jpg|[[Tripoint]] of Germany, Czech Republic, and Poland in the [[Eastern Upper Lusatia]]
Blick auf den Berg Oybin in Zittauer Gebirge... 2H1A9113WI.jpg|Monastery ruins on the [[Oybin (hill)|Oybin]]
Luzicke hory Hvozd Oybin.jpg|[[Zittau Mountains]] with the [[Hochwald (Zittau Mountains)|Hochwald]] mountain
Töpfer1.jpg|Rock Gate (''Felsentor'')
Ještěd , letecký pohled.jpg|[[Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge]]
Raspenava - pohled od křížku u rybníka Netík na severní svahy Jizerských hor (Krásná Máří, Svinské čelo).jpg|View towards the [[Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe|Jizerskohorské bučiny National Nature Reserve]]
2016 Wodospad Wilczki w Międzygórzu 01.jpg|[[Wilczki Falls]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Chojnik]]
* [[Crown of Polish Mountains]]
* [[Main Sudetes Trail]]
* [[Grüssau Abbey]]
* [[Izera railway]]
* [[Kłodzko Fortress]]
* [[Książ]]
* [[Mount Ślęża]]
* [[Niesytno Castle]]
* [[Tourism in Poland]]
* [[Wambierzyce]]
* [[Wilczka Falls Nature Reserve]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist-ua}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Sudetes}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.euratlas.com/Atlasphys/sudetes.htm Orographic map with Sudetes highlighted] {{in lang|fr}}; [http://www.euratlas.com/Atlasphys/Sudetes2.htm in English]

{{Silesia topics}}
{{German Central Uplands}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sudetes| ]]
[[Category:Horsts (geology)]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Poland]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Saxony]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Sudetenland]]