Primal-Salzach - St. Veit Terrace
The drainage system in the province
of Salzburg has not looked like it does
today since primeval times. About 10
million years ago, the Salzach valley
from Krimml to St. Johann did not yet
exist. All rivers coming from the south
(today’s main ridge of the Alps) flowed
directly through a gentle hilly landscape
(today’s Steinernes Meer, Hochkönig,
Hagengebirge, Tennengebirge) to the
north. On some limestone plateaus you
can still find so-called eye stones: these
are river pebbles that were deposited at
that time. Only about 6 million years ago,
the Salzach valley began to continuously
carve inwards.
About 3 million years ago, drainage of
the Primal-Salzach stretched back as far
as Mittersill. The upper Salzach valley
still drained through Kitzbühel. At that
time, the valley floor of the Salzach was
not that deep and it flowed along today’s
“Sonnenterrasse” (sun terrace) between
Goldegg and St. Veit. This stretch of land
is therefore a fossil (old) river bottom of
the Salzach! During the Ice Age, the valleys
were cleared out by powerful ice flows and
today’s drainage system was created.
English 
German 
