The Lattengebirge , also sometimes called the Latten Mountains , are a mountain range up to 1,738 m above sea level (NN) in the county of Berchtesgadener Land in the German state of Bavaria . They form a subgroup of the Berchtesgaden Alps and forms the northern end of its parent range.
19-449: The Karkopf is a mountain, 1,738 m, and the highest peak of the whole Lattengebirge range in the German state of Bavaria . It lies exactly on the boundary between the municipality of Bayerisch Gmain ( parish of Forst St. Zeno ) to the west and the municipality of Bischofswiesen (parish of Bischofswiesener Forst ) to the east. As a consequence of its good long-distance views over
38-882: A cove . Weather-eroded arches begin their formation as deep cracks which penetrate into a sandstone layer. Erosion occurring within the cracks wears away exposed rock layers and enlarges the surface cracks isolating narrow sandstone walls which are called fins. Alternating frosts and thawing cause crumbling and flaking of the porous sandstone and eventually cut through some of the fins. The resulting holes become enlarged to arch proportions by rockfalls and weathering. The arches eventually collapse leaving only buttresses that in time will erode. Many weather-eroded arches are found in Arches National Park , Canyonlands National Park , and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM), all located in southern Utah, United States. Some natural bridges may look like arches, but they form in
57-568: A bridge as a subtype of arch that is primarily water-formed. By contrast, the Dictionary of Geological Terms defines a natural bridge as a "natural arch that spans a valley of erosion." The largest natural arch, by a significant margin, is the Xianren Bridge in China, with a span of 122 ± 5 meters (400 ± 15 ft). On coasts two different types of arches can form depending on
76-714: A cave erosion arch made of limestone, is in Carter Caves State Resort Park and has a paved road on top. The second, a weather-eroded sandstone arch with a dirt road on top, is on the edge of Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky. The latter arch is called White's Branch Arch (also known as the Narrows) and the road going over it is usually referred to as the Narrows Road. In Europe, the Romanian village of Ponoarele has
95-547: A span of 225 feet (69 m). The Rainbow Bridge National Monument 's namesake was also formed by flowing water which created the largest known natural bridge in the Western Hemisphere with a span of 234 feet (71 m), based on a laser measurement made in 2007. Xianren Bridge , also known as Fairy Bridge, in Guangxi , China is currently the world's largest known natural bridge with a span recorded at 400 feet (120 m) by
114-644: Is only suited to experienced mountain walkers, because you need to have a head for heights and sure-footedness . From the top, you can walk to the top station of the Predigtstuhl Cable Car and from there get to the Bad Reichenhall Cable Car. It is also possible to walk from the Steinerne Agnes rocks and to the Rotofen rock towers. Lattengebirge The Lattengebirge lie northeast of
133-892: The Berchtesgaden Biosphere Reserve . The Saalach , a southwestern tributary of the Salzach , flows past the Lattengebirge to the northwest running in a southwest to northeast direction. The highest peak of the Lattengebirge is the Karkopf (1,738 m). Important touring summits are the Predigtstuhl (1,613 m) with its mountain hotel, the Dreisesselberg (1,680 m) and the Dötzenkopf (1,001 m). The Lattengebirge consist mainly of Dachstein limestone and Ramsau dolomite,
152-554: The Natural Arch and Bridge Society in October 2010, with a precision of ±15 feet (4.6 m). Natural bridges can form from natural limestone caves , where paired sinkholes collapse and a ridge of stone is left standing in between, with the cave passageway connecting from sinkhole to sinkhole. Like all rock formations, natural bridges are subject to continued erosion, and will eventually collapse and disappear. One example of this
171-639: The Predigtstuhl Cable Car to the mountain hotel on the Predigtstuhl. The cable car dates to 1928 and is the oldest surviving original large cabin cable car in the world. In addition the Lattengebirge are home to ski areas of Hochschwarzeck near Ramsau and Götschen near Bischofswiesen-Loipl. Rock arch A natural arch , natural bridge , or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs , coastal cliffs , fins or stacks are subject to erosion from
190-726: The Reiteralm , from which they are separated by the mountain pass of Schwarzbachwacht , and west of the Untersberg , from which they are separated by the Hallthurm Pass. They are located within the municipalities of Ramsau , Bischofswiesen , Bayerisch Gmain , Bad Reichenhall and Schneizlreuth , as well as the former unparished areas (now parishes of the respective municipalities of) Forst Taubensee (Ramsau), Forst St. Zeno (Bayerisch Gmain, Bad Reichenhall und Schneizlreuth) and Bischofswiesener Forst (Bischofswiesen), and they are also within
209-527: The Schlafende Hexe (the "Sleeping Witch") or Montgelas -Nase ("Montgelas' Nose"). Less well known is the roughly 1,585 m Teufelsloch ("Devil's Bowl"). This is a roughly 5-metre-long natural rock arch with a diameter of around 2.5 metres and lies in a hillock-like eminences on the southeastern rocky ridge between the Schlafende Hexe and the Alpgarten . From Bad Reichenhall visitors can take
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#1732883962359228-459: The coastline, with weak rock such as shale protected by stronger rock such as limestone . The wave action along concordant coastlines breaks through the strong rock and then erodes the weak rock very quickly. Good examples of this type of arch are the Durdle Door and Stair Hole near Lulworth Cove on Dorset 's Jurassic Coast in south England. When Stair Hole eventually collapses it will form
247-405: The dolomite containing various proportions of magnesium . Because the rocks have weathered unevenly, bizarre formations have been created in the Lattengebirge; these include Steinerne Agnes ("Stony Agnes", ca. 1,400 m), the rugged crags below the Predigtstuhl Cable Car and the striking formation of the Rotofen pinnacles at the eastern end of the Lattengebirge. These are known locally as
266-459: The formation eventually meeting underneath the harder caprock layer, thus creating an arch. The erosional processes exploit weaknesses in the softer rock layers making cracks larger and removing material more quickly than the caprock; however, the caprock itself continues to erode after an arch has formed, which will ultimately lead to collapse. The choice between bridge and arch is somewhat arbitrary. The Natural Arch and Bridge Society identifies
285-561: The geology. On discordant coastlines rock types run at 90° to the coast. Wave refraction concentrates the wave energy on the headland, and an arch forms when caves break through the headland. Two examples of this type of arch are London Bridge in Victoria , Australia, and Neill Island in the Andaman Islands , India. When these arches eventually collapse, they form stacks and stumps. On concordant coastlines rock types run parallel to
304-454: The path of streams that wear away and penetrate the rock. Pothole arches form by chemical weathering as water collects in natural depressions and eventually cuts through to the layer below. Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah protects the area surrounding three large natural bridges, all of which were formed by streams running through canyons, the largest of which is named Sipapu Bridge with
323-483: The sea, rivers or weathering ( subaerial processes). Most natural arches are formed from narrow fins and sea stacks composed of sandstone or limestone with steep, often vertical, cliff faces. The formations become narrower due to erosion over geologic time scales . The softer rock stratum erodes away creating rock shelters , or alcoves, on opposite sides of the formation beneath the relatively harder stratum, or caprock , above it. The alcoves erode further into
342-615: The whole mountain massif, the mountain is a popular walking area. The mountains of Untersberg , Hoher Göll and Watzmann may be seen to the south, and the Zwiesel and Hochstaufen to the north. The summit may be ascended from various sides, e.g. via the Predigtstuhl or along the Törlschneid from Winkl. The ascent on the Alpgartensteig path has an easy klettersteig character with several ladders, steps and cables as protection. The route
361-632: Was the double-arched Victorian coastal rock formation, London Bridge , which lost an arch after storms increased erosion. Moon Hill in Yangshuo , Guizhou Province , China, is an example of an arch formed by the remnant of a karst limestone cave. In a few places in the world, natural arches are utilized by humans as transportation bridges with highways or railroads running across them. In Virginia, US Route 11 traverses Natural Bridge . Two additional natural arch roadways are found in Kentucky . The first,
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