Krimml Falls natural site
Quick facts
- European Diploma of Protected Areas (code AT940001)
- Since Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CET 1967
- Country: Austria
- Administrative region: Not available
- Surface area: 1 km2 (57.75 ha)
- Marine area: Not available
Source and more information: Council of Europe
Description
Site contact authorities
| Manager | Mr. LAINER Ferdinand Assistant General Manager Salzburger Nationalparkfonds A-5741 Neukirchen am Grossvenediger 306 Tel.: +43 65 65 65 580 Fax.: +43 65 65 65 58 18 E-mail: nationalpark@salzburg.org.at |
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| Information | Nationalparkverwaltung Hohe Tauern Geshäftsstelle: Salzburger Nationalparkfonds A-5741 Neukirchen am Grossvenediger 306 |
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| Official contact local |
Description
| General character of the site | The Krimml Falls are located at the north-western margin of the Hohe Tauern, near the Tyrolian border in the area of Krimml, the westernmost community of the federal Land of Salzburg. The Hohe Tauern are part of the impressive and diverse range of the Eastern Alps, in which lies the highest mountain of Austria, the Grossglockner (3798 m.). The northern valleys of the Hohe Tauern often have U-shaped cross-sections and hanging valleys, due to the action of ice, above the main Valley, which is dissected by gorges. Many waterfalls are found there and among them the falls of the Krimml Ache. With a drainage area of 110.7 km² and a total fall of 380 meters and an average discharge of 7 cubic metros of water per second, they rank eighth among the great waterfalls of the world. |
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| Quality | |
| Vulnerability | The protected area around the falls is only 200 metres wide, which is hardly sufficient to integrate the site in the landscape and preserve its character fully. Two proposals are that forestry should be discontinued and that there should be no hydro-electric plant in the vicinity of the falls. |
| Designation | |
| Owner | The site is state-owned (Austrian Federal Forests) and partly private property. |
| Documentation | - Council of Europe (1969), Krimml Waterfalls, Council of Europe European Nature Conservation Diploma Series 8, Strasbourg- Council of Europe (1992), Le Diplôme Européen - un reseau prestigieux de zones protégées, Strasbourg, 84 p.- Oesterreichischer Alpenverein (1985), Wasserfallweg Krimmler Wasserfälle, Insbruck 56 p.- Oesterreichischer Alpenverein (1993), Krimmler Wasserfälle, Alpine Raumordnung Serie Nr. 7, Insbruck |
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| Geomorphology | The waterfall steps consist of hard, resistant gneiss, the short flat sections between the falls of schist. The Krimml Basin is located in the schist nappe, which was easily eroded by glacial and fluvial activity, but the hard sections at the waterfall steps resisted the Pleistocene Age Krimmler Valley glacier. Since the retreat of the ice, they provide the impressive spectacle of plunging waters which can be seen today. |
| Educational interest | The Krimmler Waterfalls are visited by approximately 400.000 people a year. For visitor information and visitor control, a information centre at the entry of the Waterfalls was established. At the forecourt the visitors learn from a number of very educational information boards about the most diverse biological and historico-cultural topics. Further information about this natural wonder and its surroundings is provided by the two ÖAV brochures on the waterfalls and the path leading on top. Informative didactic material for pupils was also developed.Guided tours for visitors and school classes are provided by an additional employee, who is responsible for supervising and informing the public. |
| Cultural heritage | An old mule track, still used for cattle, leading to south Tyrol crosses the Krimmler Tauern. The falls were first made accessible to visitors in about 1880. |
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| URL official | http://www.salzburgerland.com/krimml/ |
| URL interesting | http://www.krimml.at/ |
