The Zugspitze belongs to the
Wetterstein range of the
Northern Limestone Alps. The
Austria–Germany border goes right over the mountain. There used to be a border checkpoint at the summit but, since Germany and Austria are now both part of the
Schengen zone, the border crossing is no longer staffed. The exact height of the Zugspitze was a matter of debate for quite a while. Given figures ranged from , but it is now generally accepted that the peak is above
sea level as a result of a survey carried out by the Bavarian State Survey Office. The lounge at the new café is named "2962" for this reason.
Location of the Zugspitze summit and the
Höllentalferner glacier in 2007 At (eastern peak) the Zugspitze is the highest mountain of the Zugspitze massif. This height is referenced to the
Amsterdam Gauge and is given by the
Bavarian State Office for Survey and Geoinformation. The same height is recorded against the
Trieste Gauge used in Austria, which is 27cm lower. Originally the Zugspitze had three
peaks: the east, middle and west summits (
Ost-,
Mittel- and
Westgipfel). The only one that has remained in its original form is the east summit, which is also the only one that lies entirely on German territory. The middle summit fell victim to one of the cable car summit stations in 1930. In 1938, the west summit was blown up to create a building site for a planned flight control room for the
Wehrmacht. This was never built; however. Originally the height of the west summit was given as . The mountain rises eleven kilometres southwest of
Garmisch-Partenkirchen and just under six kilometres east of
Ehrwald. The border between Germany and Austria runs over the west summit; thus the Zugspitze massif belongs to the German state of
Bavaria and the Austrian state of
Tyrol. The municipalities responsible for it are
Grainau and
Ehrwald. To the west the Zugspitze massif drops into the valley of the River
Loisach, which flows around the massif towards the northeast in a curve whilst, in the east, the streams of
Hammersbach and
Partnach have their source. To the south the
Gaistal valley and its river, the
Leutascher Ache, separate the Wetterstein Mountains from the
Mieming Chain. To the north at the foot of the Zugspitze is the lake of
Eibsee. The next highest mountain in the area is the
Acherkogel () in the
Stubai Alps, which gives the Zugspitze a
topographic isolation value of 24.6kilometres. The reference point for the
prominence is the
Parseierspitze (). In order to climb it from the Zugspitze, a descent to the
Fern Pass () is required, so that the prominence is .
Zugspitze Massif The
massif of the Zugspitze has several other peaks. To the south the
Zugspitzplatt is surrounded in an arc by the
Zugspitzeck () and
Schneefernerkopf (), the
Wetterspitzen (), the
Wetterwandeck (), the
Plattspitzen () and the
Gatterlköpfen (). The massif ends in the
Gatterl (), a
wind gap between it and the
Hochwanner. Running eastwards away from the Zugspitze is the famous Jubilee Ridge or
Jubiläumsgrat over the
Höllentalspitzen towards the
Alpspitze and
Hochblassen. The short crest of the
Riffelwandkamm runs northeast over the summits of the
Riffelwandspitzen () and the
Riffelköpfe (), to the Riffel wind gap (
Riffelscharte, ). From here the ridge of the
Waxensteinkamm stretches away over the
Riffelspitzen to the
Waxenstein.
Zugspitzplatt valley in 2006 The
Platt or
Zugspitzplatt is a
plateau below the summit of the Zugspitze to the south and southeast which lies at a height of between . It forms the head of the
Reintal valley and has been shaped by a combination of
weathering,
karstification and
glaciation. The area contains
roches moutonnées,
dolines and
limestone pavements as a consequence of the
ice ages. In addition,
moraines have been left behind by various
glacial periods. The
Platt was completely covered by a glacier for the last time at the beginning of the 19th century. Today 52 percent of it consists of
scree, 32 percent of
bedrock and 16 percent of vegetation-covered soils, especially in the middle and lower areas.
Climate The climate is
tundra (
Köppen:
ET), maintaining the only
glacier present in
Germany, which has observed its reduction over the years. From a climatic perspective the Zugspitze lies in the
temperate zone and its prevailing winds are
Westerlies. As the first high
orographic obstacle to these Westerlies in the Alps, the Zugspitze is particularly exposed to the weather. It is effectively the north barrier of the Alps (
Nordstau der Alpen), against which moist air masses pile up and release heavy precipitation. At the same time the Zugspitze acts as a protective barrier for the Alpine ranges to the south. By contrast,
Föhn weather conditions push in the other direction against the massif, affecting the region for about 60 days per year. These warm, dry air masses stream from south to north and can result in unusually high temperatures in winter. Nevertheless, frost dominates the picture on the Zugspitze with an average of 310 days per year. For the decades from 1961 to 1990 (designated by the
World Meteorological Organization as the "normal period") the average annual precipitation on the Zugspitze was 2,003.1
mm; the wettest month being April with 199mm, and the driest, October with 108.8mm. By comparison the values for 2009 were 2,070.8mm, the wettest month being March with 326.2mm and the driest, January, with 56.4mm. The average temperature in the normal period was −4.8°C, with July and August being the warmest at 2.2°C and February the coldest with −11.4°C. The lowest measured temperature on the Zugspitze was −35.6°C on 14 February 1940. The highest temperature occurred on 5 July 1957 when the thermometer reached 17.9°C. A
squall on 12 June 1985 registered 335km/h, the highest measured wind speed on the Zugspitze. In April 1944 meteorologists recorded a snow depth of 8.3metres. Nowadays, snow completely melts during summer, but in the past snow might resist the summer months, the last case when the snow failed to melt during the whole summer season was in 2000. }} Archived January 28, 2019, at the
Wayback Machine }}
Geology lake The
geological strata composing the mountain are
sedimentary rocks of the
Mesozoic era, that were originally laid down on the seabed. The base of the mountain comprises
muschelkalk beds; its upper layers are made of
Wetterstein limestone. With steep rock walls up to 800metres high, it is this Wetterstein limestone from the Upper
Triassic that is mainly responsible for the rock faces, arêtes, pinnacles and the summit rocks of the mountain. Due to the frequent occurrence of marine
coralline algae in the Wetterstein limestone it can be deduced that this rock was at one time formed in a lagoon. The colour of the rock varies between grey-white and light grey to speckled. In several places it contains
lead and
zinc ore. These
minerals were mined between 1827 and 1918 in the
Höllental valley. The dark grey, almost horizontal and partly grass-covered layers of muschelkalk run from the foot of the Great Riffelwandspitze to the Ehrwalder Köpfe. From the appearance of the north face of the Zugspitze it can be seen that this massif originally consisted of two mountain ranges that were piled on top of one another.
Flora in front of the Zugspitze: woods on the northern shore Since the 16th century
sheep grazing has been practiced on the Zugspitzplatt. Currently there are about 400 sheep maintained on Zugspitzplatt. The shaded and moist northern slopes of the massif like, for example, the
Wettersteinwald, are some of the most species-rich environments on the Zugspitze. The
mountain pine grows at elevations of up to 1,800metres. The woods lower down consist mainly of
spruce and
fir, but
honeysuckle,
woodruff, poisonous
herb paris,
meadow-rue and
speedwell also occur here.
Dark columbine,
alpine clematis, blue and yellow
monkshood, white
corn lily,
stemless carline thistle,
false aster,
golden cinquefoil,
round-leaved saxifrage,
wall hawkweed,
alpine calamint and
alpine forget-me-not flower in the less densely wooded places, whilst
cinquefoil,
sticky sage,
butterbur,
alpenrose,
Turk's cap lily and
fly orchid thrive on the rocky soils of the mountain forests.
Lily of the valley and
daphne also occur, especially in the Höllental, in Grainau and by the Eibsee.
Bilberry,
cranberry and
cowberry are restricted to dry places and
lady's slipper orchid occurs in sheltered spots. Below the
Waxenstein are fields with
raspberries and occasionally
Fragaria vesca too. The
alpine poppy and
purple mountain saxifrage both thrive up to a very great height. On the scree slopes there are
Thlaspi and
mouse-ear chickweed as well as
Dryas octopetala,
alpine toadflax,
Lamiaceae and
Saxifraga moschata. Following snowmelt
dark stonecrop and
snow gentian are the first to appear, their seeds beginning to germinate as early as August. Other well-known alpine plants like
edelweiss,
gentians and, more rarely,
cyclamen also flower on the Zugspitze.
Fauna s on the
Zugspitzeck The rocks around the Zugspitze are a habitat for
chamois, whilst
marmots are widespread on the southern side of the massif. At the summit there are frequently
alpine choughs, drawn there by people feeding them. Somewhat lower down the mountain there are
mountain hare and the
hazel dormouse. Alpine birds occurring on the Zugspitze include the
golden eagle,
rock ptarmigan,
snow finch,
alpine accentor and
brambling. The
crag martin which has given its name to the
Schwalbenwand ("Swallows' Wall") at Kreuzeck is frequently encountered. The basins of Mittenwald and Seefeld, as well as the Fern Pass are on bird migration routes. The
viviparous lizard inhabits rocky terrain, as does the black
alpine salamander known locally as the
Bergmandl, which can be seen after rain showers as one is climbing. Butterflies like
Apollo,
Thor's fritillary,
gossamer-winged butterfly,
geometer moth,
ringlet and
skipper may be seen on the west and south sides of the Zugspitze massif, especially in July and August. The woods around the Zugspitze are home to
red deer,
red squirrel,
weasel,
capercaillie,
hazel grouse and
black grouse. On the glaciers live
glacier fleas (
Desoria saltans) and
water bears.
Glaciers Two of Germany's four glaciers are found on the Zugspitze massif: the
Höllentalferner and
Northern Schneeferner.
Höllentalferner The Höllentalferner lies northeast of the Zugspitze in a
cirque below the Jubilee Ridge (
Jubiläumsgrat) to the south and the
Riffelwandspitzen peaks to the west and north. It has a northeast
aspect. Its accumulation zone is formed by a
depression, in which large quantities of
avalanche snow collect. To the south the
Jubiläumsgrat shields the glacier from direct sunshine. These conditions meant that the glacier only lost a relatively small area between 1981 and 2006. In recent times the Höllentalferner reached its greatest around 1820 with an area of 47
hectares. Thereafter its area reduced continually until the period between 1950 and 1981 when it grew again, by 3.1 hectares to 30.2 hectares. Since then the glacier has lost (as at 2006) an area of 5.5 hectares and now has an area of 24.7 hectares. In 2006 the
glacier head was at 2,569 m and its lowest point at 2,203metres.
Schneeferner Southwest of the Zugspitze, between the
Zugspitzeck and
Schneefernerkopf, is the Northern Schneeferner which has an eastern aspect. With an area of 30.7 hectares (2006) it is the largest German glacier. Around 1820 the entire
Zugspitzplatt was glaciated, but of this Platt Glacier (
Plattgletscher) only the Northern and Southern Schneeferner remain. The reason for the relatively constant area of the Northern Schneeferner in recent years, despite the lack of shade, is the favourable
terrain that results in the glacier tending to grow or shrink in depth rather than area. In the recent past the glacier has also been artificially fed by the ski region operators, using piste tractors to heap large quantities of snow onto the glacier in order to extend the skiing season. At the beginning of the 1990s, ski slope operators began to cover the Northern Schneeferner in summer with artificial sheets in order to protect it from sunshine. The Northern Schneeferner reached its last high point in 1979, when its area grew to 40.9 hectares. By 2006 it had shrunk to 30.7 hectares. The glacier head then lay at 2,789 m and the foot at 2,558metres. The Southern Schneeferner was surrounded by the peaks of the
Wetterspitzen and the
Wetterwandeck. It was also a remnant of the once great
Platt Glacier. The Southern Schneeferner was declassified as a glacier in 2022. The Southern Schneeferner also reached its last high point in 1979, when it covered an area of 31.7 hectares. This had shrunk by 2018 to just 1.7 hectares.
Caves Below the
Zugspitzplatt chemical weathering processes have created a large number of
caves and
abîmes in the Wetterstein limestone. In the 1930s the number of caves was estimated at 300. By 1955 62 caves were known to exist and by 1960 another 47 had been discovered. The first cave explorations here took place in 1931. Other, largest exploratory expeditions took place in 1935 and 1936 as well as between 1955 and 1968. During one expedition, in 1958, the Finch Shaft (
Finkenschacht) was discovered. It is 131metres deep, 260metres long and has a watercourse. There is a theory that this watercourse could be a link to the
source of the River
Partnach. In 1985, during the construction of the uppermost section of a new railway tunnel to the Zugspitzplatt ski area, massive ice was unexpectedly encountered across the entire tunnel cross-section, extending for a further 19 meters. At the altitude of 2570 meters, the bedrock lays within a permafrost area, the ice temperatures were -1.5°C. The ice was evidently part of an ice-filled cave system within the extensive karst region of the Zugspitze. ==Name==