The Elbe Sand Stone Mountains lying along the Elbe between the Erzgebirge ("Ore Mountains") and the Sudetenland are a particular case among the landscapes of central Europe.
Crags
The crag-mountains emerged from a nearly pure, heavily fragmented layer of quartoze sandstone more than 600 meters deep during the late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian era). This unique landscape was formed by erosion from the Elbe and her tributaries.
Diversity of Habitats, Plants and Animals
Because Saxon Switzerland has many large landforms within a very small area, it also contains a high number of entirely different habitats existing side-by-side. Deep ravines and canyons with montane flora and fauna introduce authentic elements of mountain habitats to a landscape which, based on its elevation, would be classified as hills.
The climate "stands on its head"
The extreme variations in elevation within the Elbe Sandstone Mountains lead to a highly interesting ecological phenomenon: climatic inversion. This is visible in the way the typical central-European sequence of altitudinal belts gets turned upside down here (vegetation inversion).
