Ennstal Alps Explained

Ennstal Alps
Other Name:	German: link=no\|Ennstaler Alpen
Country:	Austria
Subdivision1 Type:	States
Parent:	Northern Limestone Alps
Highest:	Hochtor
Elevation M:	2369
Coordinates:	47.5617°N 14.6306°W
Range Coordinates:	47.6167°N 49°W

The Ennstal Alps (German Ennstaler Alpen), the Alps of the Enns valley, are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps System. They are located primarily in the Austrian state of Styria, and also into the state of Upper Austria.

The most famous scenery in the Ennstal Alps is the Gesäuse, a valley where the Enns river cuts through the limestone.

Geography

The Ennstal Alps range is defined by:

the lineup of Liezen, Pyhrn Pass, and Windischgarsten on the west.
Hengst Pass and the Laussabach on the north.
the lineup of the River Enns (from Altenmarkt bei Sankt Gallen to Hieflau), Erzbach, and Vordernbergerbach on the east
the lineup of the Mur river (from Leoben to Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark), Liesing, and Palten on the south

Peaks + mountain groups

Mountain groups that are part of the Ennstal Alps include:

Haller Mauern (highest summit: Großer Pyhrgas, 2,244 m)
Gesäuse Mountains, including the Buchstein Group (2,224 m), Reichenstein Group (2.251 m) and Hochtor Group (Hochtor, 2,369 m) and the Lugauer (2,217 m).
Eisenerzer Reichenstein 2,165 m (Eisenerz Alps), with the preceding massifs of Reiting (including the Gößeck its main summit, 2,214 m) (in the south) and the Kaiserschild (2,105 m) in the north.

Gesäuse − Enns river valley

The Ennstal Alps range is pierced in the north by the Enns river. The Enns river valley name in German is Gesäuse. The valley is accompanied by the only roads and railway lines that run through the Ennstal Alps.

Adjacent mountain ranges

Other Alps mountain ranges that border on the Ennstal Alps include:

Upper Austrian Prealps (to the north)
Ybbstal Alps (to the northeast)
Hochschwab (to the east)
Lavanttal Alps (to the southeast)
Seckauer Tauern (to the south)
Rottenmanner and Wölzer Tauern (to the southwest)
Totes Gebirge (to the west)

Settlements

Settlement within the range is restricted to the Gesäuse and several mountain valleys.

The main villages within the Gesäuse are Admont, Hieflau, and Großreifling.
Settlements in the mountain valleys include: Radmer, Johnsbach, and St. Gallen.

Towns in valleys around the perimeter of the range include: Leoben, Liezen, and Eisenerz.