From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hohe Tauern
Range
Panorama of the Venediger group from the Alte Prager Hütte, a mountain hut
Countries	Austria, Italy
States	Salzburg, Carinthia, East Tyrol, South Tyrol
Part of	Alps
Highest point	Großglockner
- elevation	3,798 m (12,461 ft)
- coordinates	47°04′30″N 12°41′40″E / 47.075, 12.69444

The Hohe Tauern, the highest range of the Alps east of the Brenner Pass, includes the highest mountains in Austria. The range is part of the Central Eastern Alps. It is in the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia, and East Tyrol - with a small part in the Italian South Tyrol.

The range is bounded by the Salzach valley to the north (separating it from the Kitzbühel Alps); the Mur valley and the Murtörl Pass to the east (separating it from the Niedere Tauern); the Drave valley to the south (separating it from the Southern Limestone Alps); and the Birnlücke pass to the west (separating it from the Zillertal Alps).

Its most important parts are (from West to East):

• Venediger Group (about 20 peaks from 3000 to 3666 m)
• Granatspitz Group
• Glockner Group (Großglockner 3798 m)
• Goldberg Group with the Hoher Sonnblick (3106 m)
• Ankogel Group (Ankogel (3246 m) and Hochalmspitze (3360 m))
• the eastern end of the Hohe Tauern is formed by the Hafner Group, which includes the easternmost peaks above 3000 metres in the Alps.

The parts of the Hohe Tauern south of the main crest of the Alps are:

• Lasörling Groups (Lasörling, 3098 m)
• Rieserferner Group (Hochgall, 3436 m)
• Schober Group (Hochschober, 3240 m)
• Kreuzeck Group (Polinik, 2784 m)

Adjacent mountain ranges include:

• Reißeck and Kreuzeck Group (south-east)
• Zillertal Alps (to the west, in the Tyrol and South Tyrol).
• Niedere Tauern - Radstädter Tauern (in the east)

The name "Hohe Tauern" originally meant "high passes", but came to be applied to the mountains themselves during the peak of mining operations during the Middle Ages.

In the centre of the region, there is the Nationalpark Hohe Tauern, to which the Austrian Alpine Club and the three states have contributed territory. At about 1800 km², it is the largest of Austria's six national parks and is divided into a core zone (complete prohibition of construction) and a fringe zone used for forestry and mountain pasture.

Tourism only increased marginally since the creation of the national park, but has become less harmful to the environment. A particular emphasis is put on environmental protection and the maintenance of traditional ways of life in the Alps.

The main peaks of the Hohe Tauern are:

The Hohe Tauern are crossed by several tunnels:

• Felbertauern tunnel (road), Mittersill to Lienz
• Tauern tunnel (railroad), Bad Gastein to Mallnitz
• Tauern Road Tunnel (highway), Eben im Pongau to Sankt Michael im Lungau
• Katschberg tunnel (highway), Sankt Michael im Lungau to Spittal an der Drau

The main mountain passes of the Hohe Tauern are:

1. ^ A tunnel goes under the pass at 2505 metres

This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Coordinates: 47°10′N 12°30′E / 47.167, 12.5