The Große Kranichsee (Czech: Velké jeřábí jezero) is one of the most important raised bogs (Hochmoore) under nature conservation in the Ore Mountains of Central Europe.
Location
editThe raised bog is located at an elevation of 950 metres above sea level (NN) in a high forest clearing southwest of Carlsfeld. The border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs through the reserve. West of the Kranichsee is the "black pond" (Schwarzer Teich).
Name
editThe name of the bog is related to the Slavic word granica, which means border.
Significance
editIt is a watershed and krummholz bog that is drained to the northwest by the Große Pyra and to the southwest by the Rolava. To the east is the Kleiner Kranichsee, where the heart of the bog, unlike the Großer Kranichsee, lies on the German side of the border.
Climate
editCarlsfeld is a small settlement nearby to Großer Kranichsee.
Climate data for Carlsfeld: 895m (1991−2020) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −0.4 (31.3) |
0.6 (33.1) |
4.0 (39.2) |
9.4 (48.9) |
13.8 (56.8) |
17.2 (63.0) |
19.1 (66.4) |
19.0 (66.2) |
14.4 (57.9) |
9.3 (48.7) |
4.0 (39.2) |
0.5 (32.9) |
9.2 (48.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.8 (27.0) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
0.5 (32.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
9.4 (48.9) |
12.7 (54.9) |
14.6 (58.3) |
14.5 (58.1) |
10.4 (50.7) |
6.0 (42.8) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
5.6 (42.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.1 (22.8) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
1.0 (33.8) |
4.9 (40.8) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
10.0 (50.0) |
6.5 (43.7) |
3.2 (37.8) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
2.2 (36.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 95.1 (3.74) |
75.5 (2.97) |
96.0 (3.78) |
65.7 (2.59) |
95.9 (3.78) |
111.8 (4.40) |
126.4 (4.98) |
109.6 (4.31) |
102.1 (4.02) |
93.9 (3.70) |
90.5 (3.56) |
102.5 (4.04) |
1,165 (45.87) |
Source: NOAA[1] |
Vegetation
edit- Mountain pine (Pinus mugo)
- Hare's-tail cotton-grass (Eriophorum vaginatum)
- Black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)
- Bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum)
- Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)
Fauna
edit- European viper (Vipera berus)
- Viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivipara)
Tourism
editAs early as 1900 the Ore Mountain Club branch at Carlsfeld laid a corduroy road into the bog and erected an observation platform that has since disappeared. The raised bog is protected as a nature reserve.
Literature
edit- Der Große Kranichsee. In: A. Marx: Bunte Bilder aus dem Sachsenlande, Vol. IV, pp. 1–6, Dresden, 1927.
- Die Bergbaulandschaft von Schneeberg und Eibenstock. Edition no. 1 Akademie-Verlag Berlin, Berlin 1967 (Werte der deutschen Heimat. Vol. 11). pp. 172–176.
References
edit- ^ "Carlsfeld Climate Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 3, 2023.