Landscapes and landforms of the Czech Republic / Ландшафты и формы рельефа Чехии

Landforms and landscapes vary enormously across the Earth, from high mountains to endless plains. At a smaller scale, nature often surprises us creating shapes which look improbable. Many physical landscapes are so immensely beautiful that they receive the highest possible recognition—they hold the status of World Heritage Sites. Apart from often being immensely scenic, landscapes tell stories which not uncommonly can be traced back in time for tens of million years and include unique geological events such as meteorite impacts. In addition, many landscapes owe their appearance and harmony not solely to the natural forces. For centuries, and even millennia, they have been shaped by humans, who have modified hill slopes, river courses and coastlines, and erected structures which often blend with the natural landforms to form inseparable entities.
These landscapes are studied by geomorphology—‘the science of scenery’—a part of earth sciences that focuses on landforms, their assemblages, surface and subsurface processes that moulded them in the past and that change them today. To show the importance of geomorphology in understanding the landscape, and to present the beauty and diversity of the geomorphological sceneries across the world, we have launched a book series called World Geomorphological Landscapes. It aims to be a scientific library of monographs that present and explain physical landscapes, focusing on both representative and uniquely spectacular examples. Each book will contain details on geomorphology of a particular country or a geographically coherent region. This volume presents the impressive geodiversity of the Czech Republic. This Central European country may seem small but it hosts a very wide range of landscapes and landforms, the origin of which can be traced back to the Mesozoic. Among geomorphic highlights of the Czech Republic are block-faulted mountains with elevated planation surfaces and the evidence of past mountain glaciation, karst plateaus, deep fluvial canyons, astounding ‘rock cities’ in sandstone, flysch mountain ranges affected by huge landslides, and many others. They are presented and illustrated through carefully selected 25 examples from the entire country. <...>

Part I Physical Environment
Geology and Tectonic Development of the Czech Republic Radomír Grygar
Climate in the Past and Present in the Czech Lands in the Central European Context Jan Hradecký and Rudolf Brázdil
Long-Term Geomorphological History of the Czech Republic Tomáš Pánek and Veronika Kapustová
Part II Landscapes and Landforms
The Geomorphological Evolution and Environmental Hazards of the Prague Area Jan Kalvoda and Břetislav Balatka
The Bohemian Karst: A Condensed Record of Landscape and Living Nature Evolution Karel Žák, Pavel Bosák, and Jiří Bruthans
Brdy Highland: A Landscape Shaped in the Periglacial Zone of Quaternary Glacials Karel Žák
Bohemian Forest: Landscape and People on the Frontier Pavel Mentlík
Morphology of the Youngest Little Volcanoes in Western Bohemian Massif Jan Mrlina
The Krušné Hory Mts.—The Longest Mountain Range of the Czech Republic Vít Vilímek and Pavel Raška
Elbe Sandstones Zuzana Vařilová
Neovolcanic Terrain of the České Středohoří Mountains Pavel Raška and Vladimír Cajz

The Kokořín Area: Sandstone Landforms Controlled by Hydrothermal Ferruginization Jiří Adamovič
Jizerské Hory—an Interplay of Rock Control, Faulting and Inland Glaciation in the Evolution of a Granite Terrain Piotr Migoń
Krkonoše Mountains: A Case Study of Polygenetic Relief Vlastimil Pilous
Bohemian Paradise: Sandstone Landscape in the Foreland of a Major Fault Jan Mertlík and Jiří Adamovič
Adršpach-Teplice Rocks and Broumov Cliffs—Large Sandstone Rock Cities in the Central Europe Jan Vítek
Žďárské Vrchy Highland—Geomorphological Landscape in the Top Part of the Bohemian-Moravian Highland with the Unique Crystalline Rocks Forms Karel Kirchner
The Dyje Canyon-like Valley: Geomorphological Landscape of Deep Valley at the Eastern Part of the Marginal Slope of Bohemian Massif Karel Kirchner
The Moravian Karst: An Interconnection Between Surface and Subsurface Natural Sceneries Jaroslav Kadlec and Petr Neruda
Region of the Rychlebské Hory Mountains—Tectonically Controlled Landforms and Unique Landscape of Granite Inselbergs (Sudetic Mountains) Petra Štěpančíková and Jakub Stemberk
Periglacial Landforms of the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains Marek Křížek
Litovelské Pomoraví—Landscape Around Anastomosing River Pattern of Morava Zdeněk Máčka
The Nízký Jeseník—Highland with Abandoned Deep Mines Jan Lenart
Black Land: The Mining Landscape of the Ostrava-Karviná Region Monika Mulková, Petr Popelka, and Renata Popelková
Poodří—Landscape of Ponds and a Preserved Meander Belt of the Odra River Jan Hradecký, Radek Dušek, Marián Velešík, Monika Chudaničová, Václav Škarpich, Radim Jarošek, and Jan Lipina
Landslide Landscape of the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mountains and Their Surroundings Tomáš Pánek and Jan Lenart

Strážnické Pomoraví—Holocene Evolution of a Unique Floodplain and Aeolian Landforms Zdeněk Máčka and Jaroslav Kadlec
Limestone Klippen of the Pavlov Hills Tomáš Pánek, Jan Miklín, and Karel Kirchner

Part III Geoheritage and Geotourism

Geomorphological Heritage and Geoconservation in the Czech Republic Lucie Kubalíková
Promoting Geomorphological Heritage: Bringing Geomorphology to People Lucie Kubalíková