Austrian Landscapes Matching Games 1 - 3

  1. A large proportion of Austria, about 70 %,
/ is mountainous.
  1. The Eastern Alps
/ have many peaks of 3000 metres or higher.
  1. Austria lies in central Europe and
/ is a landlocked state.
  1. Austria is an
/ Alpine country.
  1. The hills on the Northern rim of the Alps
/ are made of sandstone and shale.
  1. The Alps
/ stretch over 1200 km from Genoa to Vienna.
  1. The Alps are characterized by
/ a remarkable scenic variety.
  1. The Alps are located in a zone of tectonic uplift
/ which still measures 2 mm a year.
  1. The sandstone and limestone layers
/ were first deposited, then folded and uplifted.
  1. Since the Tertiary period
/ the Alps have been exposed to tectonic pressure.
  1. The highest peaks
/ are covered by glaciers.
  1. Only 28 % of Austria
/ is flat or moderately hilly
  1. The Bohemian Granite Massif
/ is a barren, in the east wooded upland of medium height.
  1. The Austrian Alps consist of several rock zones
/ which run parallel in an east-west direction.
  1. Austria is characterized by
/ a great diversity of landscapes.
  1. The weathering of the different rock types
/ produces different surface types.
  1. Layers of limestone, sandstone, shale, sand, silt, clay and gravel
/ were deposited in the sea that once covered our area.
  1. The steep slopes , high precipitation and extreme temperatures
/ cause natural disasters such as avalanches, rock falls and debris flows in the mountains.
  1. The Central Alps are dominated
/ by metamorphic rocks such as Gneiss and shale.
  1. The Limestone Alps
/ can be divided into a densely wooded lower zone and the mighty ridges and plateaus of the Limestone High Alps.
  1. The Granite and Gneiss Upland in the North is a
/ windswept plateau with stony soils and large forests.
  1. Glacial erosion in the Ice Age has produced
/ steep slopes, U-shaped valleys and waterfalls.
  1. From Vienna to Villach there is a
/ tectonic disturbance with seismic activity and hot springs.
  1. The easternmost part of Austria, east of Lake Neusiedl,
/ with its steppe vegetation, salty ponds and reed differs much from the rest of Austria.
  1. Characteristic features of the Limestone Alps are
/ the white rocks, barren karstic plateaus and caverns.
  1. The Slate zone, which consists of Palaeozoic rocks,
/ is rich in ores such as copper, magnesite, graphite and iron.
  1. The Alps are intersected by
/ two longitudinal valleys.
  1. The main ranges of the Alps
/ are the Central Alpine ridge and the Northern and Southern Limestone ridges.
  1. On either side the Alps are bordered
/ by foothills and undulated lowlands with plains and terraces
  1. The Alps are situated on the edge of
/ the African and European plates.