The Glemmtal ("Glemm Valley") in the Austrian state of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

is the valley of the roughly 30 km long upper reaches of the River

Saalach The Saalach is a river in Austria and Germany, and a left tributary of the Salzach. Course The river begins, as the stream, in the Austrian state of Tyrol in the Kitzbühel Alps at the lake below the high Gamshag. From there it flows ini ...

. It belongs to the northern

Pinzgau The Bezirk Zell am See is an administrative district (''Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Pinzgau region (). The area of the district is , with a population of 84,124 (May 15, 2001), and population dens ...

region and separates the

Kitzbühel Alps The Kitzbühel Alps ( or ''Kitzbühler Alpen'') are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps surrounding the town of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, Austria. Geologically they are part of the western slate zone ( greywacke zone). Location Two-thirds of ...

in an east-west direction. Its main settlement is the village of Saalbach in

Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...

district.

Geography

The ''Saalbach'' flows through the upper 10 km of the valley , whose largest headstream, the '' Schwarzenbach'', rises at about 1800 m above sea level between the Geißstein, the ''Tristkogel'' and the Spieleckkogel mountains. After uniting with several streams and the

white water Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque ...

s of the Voglalpgraben it flows as the ''Saalbach'' through the '' Hinterglemm (Hinterglemm valley)'', from where several summer and winter routes head north leading to the Saalach Valley Ridgeway (''Saalachtaler Höhenweg'') and south to the Pinzgau Ridgeway (''Pinzgauer Höhenweg''). Near the confluence of the ''Schwarzachengraben'' lie several scattered settlements and, on the southern valley floor is the Karl Renner Haus belonging to the

Friends of Nature Friends of Nature (international abbreviation: NFI, for German: Naturfreunde International) is a non-profit organisation with a background in the social democratic movement, which aims to make the enjoyment of nature accessible to the wider commu ...

. Several kilometres downstream the valley broadens and one enters the well-known Saalbach-Hinterglemm ski region and the village of Saalbach, from where the Saalbach is called the "Saalach" and the valley the "Lower Glemm Valley" or ''Vorderglemmtal''. Here the Spielbergbach joins from the north and several summer mountain trails begin here too including the one to the Schattberg. Now the valley runs for 15 km relatively straight and due east. The valley ends near Viehhofen, north of the Zeller See, the Saalach swings north the valley broadens to several kilometres to form the '' Saalfelden Basin'' around the town of

Saalfelden Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer is a town in the district of Zell am See in the Austrian state of Salzburg. With approximately 16,000 inhabitants, Saalfelden is the district's largest town and the third of the federal state after Salzburg and Hallein ...

Sports

* Skicircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm/Leogang, winter sports area

References

{{Coord, 47, 23, , N, 12, 38, , E, type:waterbody_region:AT-5, display=title Kitzbühel Alps Valleys of Salzburg (federal state)