The Křižanov Highlands ( cs, Křižanovská vrchovina, german: Krischanauer Bergland) is a

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

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

Vysočina Region The Vysočina Region (; cs, Kraj Vysočina "Highlands Region", , ) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located partly in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia and partly in the south-west of the his ...

Geomorphology

The Křižanov Highlands is a mesoregion of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands within the

Bohemian Massif The Bohemian Massif ( cs, Česká vysočina or ''Český masiv'', german: Böhmische Masse or ''Böhmisches Massiv'') is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Ger ...

. It borders other mesoregions of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. The highest peaks are Harusův kopec at above sea level, Špičák at , Mařenka at , Ještěnice at , Havlína at , and Kyjov at .

Geology

The

s, together with the

Upper Svratka Highlands The Upper Svratka Highlands ( cs, Hornosvratecká vrchovina, german: Hohe Schwarza Bergeland) is a mountain range in Moravia, Czech Republic. The Highlands, together with the Křižanov Highlands threshold, form the Western-Moravian part of Mold ...

and Jevišovice Uplands threshold, form the Western-Moravian part of Moldanubian Zone.

Pedology

The primary composition of the range is

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an older metamorphic rock th ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

and gneis.

Soil horizon A soil horizon is a layer parallel to the soil surface whose physical, chemical and biological characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath. Horizons are defined in many cases by obvious physical features, mainly colour and texture. ...

is mainly fluvisol and

cambisol A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the pers ...

Geography

The area has a horseshoe shape that extends from Tišnov in the east, to Žďár nad Sázavou in the northwest and Jemnice in the southwest. The highlands have an area of and an average height of . The rivers that originates here include

Jihlava Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihlava i ...

, Oslava, and

Thaya The Thaya ( cs, Dyje ) is a river in Central Europe, the longest tributary to the river Morava. Its drainage basin is . It is ( with its longest source river German Thaya) long and meanders from west to east in the border area between Lower A ...

. The most populated settlements in the territory are

(smaller part), Žďár nad Sázavou, Velké Meziříčí,

Nové Město na Moravě Nové Město na Moravě (; german: Neustadt in Mähren) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. It is known as a winter sports resort. The historic town centre is w ...

, Dačice, Třešť, and

Velká Bíteš Velká Bíteš (until 1924 Velká Byteš) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban mon ...

Vegetation

The mountain range is 47% forested, plantations only –

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimitin ...

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...

birches A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to ...

Gallery

Cizkrajov, Monstserrat 01.jpg, Monserrat nearby

Cizkrajov Cizkrajov () is a municipality and village in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative parts The villages of Dolní Bolíkov, Holešice and Mutná are administ ...

Overview of Bítešská vrchovina from Harusův kopec in Nové Město na Moravě, Žďár nad Sázavou District.jpg, View from Harusův kopec Hlinné 06.JPG, Hlinné Hlinné 08.JPG, Hlinné pond Měřín, Pustina, Balinka river.jpg, Balinka stream Jihlava pod Templštejnem.JPG, Jihlava river PR Velká skála06272.JPG, Middle Jihlava canyon Pravý břeh06293.JPG, Middle Jihlava canyon (Velká skála)

References

* Geografický místopisný slovník, Academia, Praha, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Krizanov Highlands Mountain ranges of the Czech Republic Geography of the Vysočina Region Moravia Bohemia Highlands