The Most Basin (also known as North Bohemian Basin; , ) is a

structural basin A structural basin is a large-scale structural geology, structural formation of rock stratum, strata formed by tectonics, tectonic warping (Fold (geology), folding) of previously flat-lying strata into a syncline fold. They are geological dep ...

and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is named after the city of Most. It forms the southwestern and central parts of the

Ústí nad Labem Region Ústí nad Labem Region or Ústecký Region () is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of the historical land of Bohemia, and named after the capital, Ústí nad Labem. I ...

. It is among the richest European deposits of

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

, which has been extracted here since the second half of 19th century, mostly by extensive

surface mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in whic ...

Geomorphology

The Most Basin is a mesoregion of the Podkrušnohorská Macroregion within the

Bohemian Massif The Bohemian Massif ( or ''Český masiv'', or ''Böhmisches Massiv'') is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Germany, southern Poland and northern Austria. Th ...

. It is further subdivided into the microregions of Žatec Basin and Chomutov-Teplice Basin. A flat landscape without peaks is typical for the Most Basin. The highest point of the territory is a

contour line A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, isoquant or isarithm) of a Function of several real variables, function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a ...

near Libouchec, at above sea level. There are several low hills with an elevation of 350–380 in the southwestern part of the basin.

Adjacent landscapes

The basin lies between the Central and Eastern

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

to the north and the Rakovník Uplands to the south. To the east the basin borders on the Central Bohemian Uplands and the foothills of Elbe Sandstone Mountains as well as in the southeast on the geomorphological region of the

Lower Ohře Table The Lower Ohře Table () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Ústí nad Labem and Central Bohemian regions. Geomorphology The Lower Ohře Table is a mesoregion of the Central Bohemian Tab ...

. In the west it reaches the Doupov Mountains.

Geology

The Most Basin is a depression filled with

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

sediments. Its main filling is of

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

age and they are mainly

volcanic rock Volcanic rocks (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) are rocks formed from lava erupted from a volcano. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic rock is artificial, and in nature volcanic rocks grade into hypabyssal and me ...

s, pyroclastic sediments,

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

s and

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

s together with important deposits of lignite and ceramic clays.

Geography

The Most Basin has an area of and an average elevation of . The territory has an elongated shape from southwest to northeast. There are several significant watercourses in the area. The largest rivers are

Ohře The Ohře (), also known in English and German as Eger (), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary Region ...

and

Bílina Bílina (; ) is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is known for its destination spa, spas and as a source of the strongly mineralized water, Bílinská kyselka. The ...

. The area is rich on reservoirs and artificial lakes as a consequence of

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

after coal mining. The largest bodies of water are lakes Milada, Most and Matylda, and the Nechranice Reservoir. Natural conditions have given rise to larger settlements in the area. The largest cities and towns in the Most Basin are

Chomutov Chomutov (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as ...

, Litvínov, Jirkov,

Žatec Žatec (; ) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Žatec is famous for an over-700-year-long tradition of growing Saaz hops, Saaz noble hops u ...

and Krupka. Partly located in the territory are

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

, Most,

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

Kadaň Kadaň (; ) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the Ohře river. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Franciscan Monastery in ...

and

Economy

The basin is known for lignite mining. 30–40 thousand tonnes of coal are mined here every year. The region is largely agricultural. The area around Žatec is well known for

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

cultivation. Saaz hops or Žatec hops is a

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

Gallery

Nordböhmisches becken near Most.jpg, Infilling a mine near Most. In the foreground: the site of the old town North bohemian basin2 - cz..jpg, The Most Basin between Ústí nad Labem (right) with view of the escarpment of the Ore Mountain fault-block

References

External links

Information about the North Bohemian lignite field
{{authority control Ústí nad Labem Region Coal mining regions in the Czech Republic Landforms of the Czech Republic