The Central Elbe Table () is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

, but due to its size, it also extends to other regions. The axis of the plateau is the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

River, after which the territory is named.

Geomorphology

The Central Elbe Table is a mesoregion of the Central Bohemian Table 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 ...

. Typical features of the landscape are wide valley floodplains, low terraces, and tectonic and

denudation Denudation is the geological process in which moving water, ice, wind, and waves erode the Earth's surface, leading to a reduction in elevation and in relief of landforms and landscapes. Although the terms erosion and denudation are used interchang ...

depressions. The plateau is further subdivided into the microregions of Nymburk Basin, Čáslav Basin, Mělník Basin, Mrlina Table and Český Brod Table. Due to the nature of the plateau, there are no significant peaks. The highest point is the contour near the village of Radlice within Barchovice at above sea level. The highest peaks are Dílce at above sea level, U Písku at and Vinný vrch at .

Geography

The territory has a predominantly elongated shape from northwest to southeast. The plateau has an area of and an average elevation of . It is the sixth largest mesoregion in the Czech Republic. Most of the Central Elbe Table is located in the

, but it also extends into

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in the southwest and to the

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

and

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

regions in the east. A large part of the territory overlaps with the informally defined region of Polabí. The axis of the territory is the

River, into which a number of other important rivers flow:

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

, Jizera, Doubrava, Cidlina, Mrlina, Výrovka and Klejnárka. Suitable natural conditions contributed to the creation of many settlements in the Central Elbe Table. In addition to the fact that the northern suburbs of Prague are located here, the most populous towns in the territory are

Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...

Mělník Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (; and ''Altbunzlau'') is an administratively united pair of towns in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants and it is the second largest Czech ...

, Kralupy nad Vltavou, Neratovice,

Nymburk Nymburk (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mo ...

, Poděbrady, Čelákovice, Čáslav, Lysá nad Labem and Český Brod. Partly located in the Central Elbe Table are Kutná Hora and Milovice.

Vegetation

The landscape has predominantly an agricultural character and is relatively sparsely forested.

Gallery

Confluence of channel and Labe in Mělník, Mělník District.JPG, Confluence of the Elbe with a channel of the Vltava Prerovska a semicka hura.jpg, The hills Přerovská hůra and Semická hůra Pohled z Jenštejna k severu.jpg, View from Jenštejn to the north Zabori-Stredolabska tabule-10-2018-zabori.jpg, View towards the hill Záboří

References

{{authority control Landforms of the Czech Republic Geography of the Central Bohemian Region Plateaus of Europe