The Bohemian Massif ( or Český masiv, or Böhmisches Massiv) is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Germany, southern Poland and northern Austria. The massif encompasses a number of mittelgebirges and consists of crystalline rocks, which are older than the Permian (more than 300 million years old) and therefore deformed during the Variscan Orogeny. Parts of the Sudetes within the Bohemian Massif, Giant Mountains in particular, stand out from the ordinary mittelgebirge pattern by having up to four distinct levels of altitudinal zonation, glacial cirques, small periglacial landforms and an elevation significantly above the timber line. Geomorphological divisions The Bohemian Massif is a province within the Hercynian Forest subsystem. It borders with four provinces: Western Carpathians on the east, Eastern Alps on the south, North European Plain on the north, and Central Uplands on the west. The Bohemian Massif is further divided into six subprovinces: Sudetes; includes mountain ranges of Giant Mountains, Lusatian Mountains and Hrubý Jeseník Ore Mountains; includes mountain ranges of Ore Mountains, Elbe Sandstone Mountains and Central Bohemian Upland Bohemian Forest; includes mountain ranges of Bohemian Forest, Bavarian Forest, Upper Palatine Forest, Gratzen Mountains and the Granite and Gneiss Plateau Bohemian-Moravian; includes Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and Brno Highlands Poberoun; includes the Brdy mountain range and the Prague Plateau Bohemian Table; includes the lowlands around the Elbe River Geography The landscapes in the Bohemian Massif are mostly dominated by rolling hills. North of the river Danube the topography is characterized by gentle valleys and broad, flat ridges and hilltops. The highest peaks on the Czech-Austrian borderline are the Plöckenstein (Plechý, 1,378 m) and Sternstein (1,125 m). The bedrock of acid gneiss and granite is weathered to brown soil (cambisols). In flat areas and valleys the groundwater had more influence on soil formation; in such places gley soils may be found too. As in the other Variscan mittelgebirges of Central Europe, the valleys are more irregular and less pronounced as in the relatively young fold and thrust belt of the Alps. The plateaus are orographically more similar in morphology. Water gaps in the Bohemian Massif are the Wachau, the Strudengau and the valley of the Danube from Vilshofen over Passau and the Schlögener Schlinge till Aschach. Geology Tectonic subdivision The internal tectonic structure of the Bohemian Massif was formed during the Variscan Orogeny. The Variscan Orogeny was