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96-661: The Saxon Switzerland and Bohemian Switzerland national parks, known also as Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland, are located within the territory of Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains extend on both sides of the Elbe from the Saxon town of Pirna in the northwest toward Bohemian Děčín in the southeast. Their highest peak with 723 m (2,372 ft) is the Děčínský Sněžník in Bohemian Switzerland on

192-472: A constant rate. These " molecular clocks ", however, are fallible, and provide only approximate timing: for example, they are not sufficiently precise and reliable for estimating when the groups that feature in the Cambrian explosion first evolved, and estimates produced by different techniques may vary by a factor of two. Organisms are only rarely preserved as fossils in the best of circumstances, and only

288-496: A difficult section by climbing on top of the shoulders of other climbers (sometimes several people on top of each other) with everybody involved only holding himself by holds the rock provides. Though this would normally be considered a form of aid climbing , it is here accepted as a form of free climbing . As the pinnacles are often very close to one other, jumping from one rock to another is also rather popular and this technique even has its own grades of difficulty . In addition to

384-426: A fraction of such fossils have been discovered. This is illustrated by the fact that the number of species known through the fossil record is less than 5% of the number of known living species, suggesting that the number of species known through fossils must be far less than 1% of all the species that have ever lived. Because of the specialized and rare circumstances required for a biological structure to fossilize, only

480-499: A hierarchical classification system still in use today. Darwin and his contemporaries first linked the hierarchical structure of the tree of life with the then very sparse fossil record. Darwin eloquently described a process of descent with modification, or evolution, whereby organisms either adapt to natural and changing environmental pressures, or they perish. When Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or

576-418: A mid-Ordovician age. Such index fossils must be distinctive, be globally distributed and occupy a short time range to be useful. Misleading results are produced if the index fossils are incorrectly dated. Stratigraphy and biostratigraphy can in general provide only relative dating ( A was before B ), which is often sufficient for studying evolution. However, this is difficult for some time periods, because of

672-536: A mutation first appeared. Phylogenetics and paleontology work together in the clarification of science's still dim view of the appearance of life and its evolution. Niles Eldredge 's study of the Phacops trilobite genus supported the hypothesis that modifications to the arrangement of the trilobite's eye lenses proceeded by fits and starts over millions of years during the Devonian . Eldredge's interpretation of

768-570: A portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates , or the chitinous or calcareous exoskeletons of invertebrates . Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as animal tracks or feces ( coprolites ). These types of fossil are called trace fossils or ichnofossils , as opposed to body fossils . Some fossils are biochemical and are called chemofossils or biosignatures . Gathering fossils dates at least to

864-405: A result of erosive destruction into long ridges ( Schrammsteine ) or even into individual rock pinnacles ( Torwächter ). Morphologically harder sections of strata, that resisted karstification longer and more successfully, generally form the uppermost layers. The collapse of rock structures is usually therefore a result of erosion from below or from the flanks. During the early Mediaeval period,

960-482: A result of long-term tectonic stresses on the entire sandstone platform of the mountain range. This network of clefts runs through the sandstone beds in a relatively regular way, but in different directions in two regions of the range. Subsequent weathering processes of very different forms and simultaneous complex deposition (leaching, frost and salt wedging , wind , solution weathering with sintering as well as biogenic and microbial effects) have further changed

1056-423: A result of the climatic influences of the ice ages. The mineral composition of the sandstone beds has a direct effect on the morphology of the terrain. The fine-grained form with clayey-silty cement between the quartz grains causes banks and slopes with terracing. The beds of sandstone with siliceous cement are typically the basis of the formation of rock faces and crags. Small variations in the cement composition of

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1152-400: A richly diverse assembly of early multicellular eukaryotes . The fossil record and faunal succession form the basis of the science of biostratigraphy or determining the age of rocks based on embedded fossils. For the first 150 years of geology , biostratigraphy and superposition were the only means for determining the relative age of rocks. The geologic time scale was developed based on

1248-668: A rock face or when dressing the rough blocks of stone. The sandstone of this region is a sought-after building material used for example, for imposing city edifices such as the Church of Our Lady in Dresden . Large parts of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains are under statutory protection. In Germany there is the national park region of Saxon Switzerland, which consists two elements: Saxon Switzerland National Park itself, founded in 1990 and covered an area of 93 km²; and

1344-788: A rule, two types of hill may be distinguished. Numerous rock formations in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains , in both Saxon Switzerland and Bohemian Switzerland , are known locally in this region as Steine ("rocks"). Prominent examples are the Königstein , the Lilienstein , the Gohrisch and the Papststein. This description does not, however, include the dome-shaped Kuppen such as the Waitzdorfer Höhe or

1440-448: A small percentage of life-forms can be expected to be represented in discoveries, and each discovery represents only a snapshot of the process of evolution. The transition itself can only be illustrated and corroborated by transitional fossils, which will never demonstrate an exact half-way point. The fossil record is strongly biased toward organisms with hard-parts, leaving most groups of soft-bodied organisms with little to no role. It

1536-617: A wide audience. In English the usual translation is "Saxon Switzerland". However other sources call it "Saxony Switzerland" or even "Swiss Saxony". Saxon Switzerland forms the northern part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains range, located on the German-Czech border. To the east, it transitions into the Lusatian Highlands and, to the west, into the Ore Mountains . The Czech part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains

1632-449: Is a notable example of how knowledge encoded by the fossil record continues to contribute otherwise unattainable information on the emergence and development of life on Earth. For example, the research suggests Markuelia has closest affinity to priapulid worms, and is adjacent to the evolutionary branching of Priapulida , Nematoda and Arthropoda . Despite significant advances in uncovering and identifying paleontological specimens, it

1728-412: Is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age . Examples include bones , shells , exoskeletons , stone imprints of animals or microbes , objects preserved in amber , hair , petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record . Though the fossil record is incomplete, numerous studies have demonstrated that there

1824-538: Is enough information available to give a good understanding of the pattern of diversification of life on Earth. In addition, the record can predict and fill gaps such as the discovery of Tiktaalik in the arctic of Canada . Paleontology includes the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years to 4.1 billion years old. The observation in

1920-617: Is formed by sandstones, planers and other rocks as well as basal conglomerates of older origin. Several erosion relics from Reinhardtsgrimma through Dippoldiswalde and the Tharandt Forest to Siebenlehn form isolated examples south of Dresden. They are mainly characterised by sandstones. On the Bohemian side the sandstone beds continue and form part of the North Bohemian Cretaceous. The chalk sediments of

2016-479: Is generally accepted that the fossil record is vastly incomplete. Approaches for measuring the completeness of the fossil record have been developed for numerous subsets of species, including those grouped taxonomically, temporally, environmentally/geographically, or in sum. This encompasses the subfield of taphonomy and the study of biases in the paleontological record. Paleontology seeks to map out how life evolved across geologic time. A substantial hurdle

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2112-826: Is local slang for sleeping out overnight in the open under a rock overhang and has a long tradition in Saxon Switzerland. Many young people travel to Saxon Switzerland at weekends in order to boofen . Today it is only permitted by the National Park Authority at designated sites. However the growing number of Boofers and the bad conduct of individuals (e.g. who light illegal campfires, tear up saplings or cause soil erosion) has led to repeated altercations. 50°56′N 14°12′E  /  50.933°N 14.200°E  / 50.933; 14.200 Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis , lit.   ' obtained by digging ' )

2208-652: Is located around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony , Germany , adjoining Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic . Together with the Czech part, the region is known as Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland. The administrative district for the area is Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge . The fortress of Königstein is a well-known landmark. The German name for Saxon Switzerland, Sächsische Schweiz , appeared in

2304-734: Is partly formed by the Bohemian Switzerland national park. The highest elevation in Saxon Switzerland is the Großer Zschirnstein at 562 m above sea level . In the classification of natural regions by Emil Meynen, Saxon Switzerland was a major unit (430) within the Saxon-Bohemian Chalk Sandstone Region (main unit group 43), whose only other major unit on German soil was the Zittau Mountains . The boundary between

2400-438: Is replete with the mollusks , the vertebrates , the echinoderms , the brachiopods and some groups of arthropods . Fossil sites with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues—are known as Lagerstätten —German for "storage places". These formations may have resulted from carcass burial in an anoxic environment with minimal bacteria, thus slowing decomposition. Lagerstätten span geological time from

2496-470: Is the difficulty of working out fossil ages. Beds that preserve fossils typically lack the radioactive elements needed for radiometric dating . This technique is our only means of giving rocks greater than about 50 million years old an absolute age, and can be accurate to within 0.5% or better. Although radiometric dating requires careful laboratory work, its basic principle is simple: the rates at which various radioactive elements decay are known, and so

2592-413: Is the science of deciphering the "layer-cake" that is the sedimentary record. Rocks normally form relatively horizontal layers, with each layer younger than the one underneath it. If a fossil is found between two layers whose ages are known, the fossil's age is claimed to lie between the two known ages. Because rock sequences are not continuous, but may be broken up by faults or periods of erosion , it

2688-560: Is unmatched by any other of the German central uplands . The occurrence of Elbe sandstones and hence the Elbe Sandstone Mountains themselves is related to widespread deposition by a former sea in the Upper Cretaceous epoch. On the Saxon side of the border the term "Elbe Valley Cretaceous" is used, referring to a region stretching from Meißen - Oberau in the northwest through Dresden and Pirna into Saxon Switzerland, and which

2784-467: Is very difficult to match up rock beds that are not directly adjacent. However, fossils of species that survived for a relatively short time can be used to match isolated rocks: this technique is called biostratigraphy . For instance, the conodont Eoplacognathus pseudoplanus has a short range in the Middle Ordovician period. If rocks of unknown age have traces of E. pseudoplanus , they have

2880-801: The Cambrian period to the present . Worldwide, some of the best examples of near-perfect fossilization are the Cambrian Maotianshan Shales and Burgess Shale , the Devonian Hunsrück Slates , the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone , and the Carboniferous Mazon Creek localities. A fossil is said to be recrystallized when the original skeletal compounds are still present but in a different crystal form, such as from aragonite to calcite . Replacement occurs when

2976-603: The Großer Winterberg , whose bedrock is made of volcanic basalt or granitic material. The Cretaceous sandstone formations soar above the so-called "levels" of their surrounding area, the former level of the River Elbe, and represent the remains of an old peneplain . In the course of the Late Tertiary , uplifting of the Ore Mountains and sideways pressure from the Lusatian Highlands shattered

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3072-591: The Königstein Fortress , Pravčická brána , the Schrammsteine , Pfaffenstein , and the valleys of the Kirnitzsch and Kamenice rivers. There are some 14,000 climbing routes via which mountain climbers can conquer 1100 free-standing peaks. Visitors can experience the natural scenes on the asphalt Elbe cycle path, or on board a steam paddleboat that is part of the oldest fleet of its kind in

3168-487: The Lusatian Mountains was shaped and affected by intense volcanism ; but individual intrusions of magma also forced their way through the sandstone platform of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The most striking evidence of this phase in the earth's history are the conical basaltic hills of Růžovský vrch , Cottaer Spitzberg and Raumberg , but also Großer and Kleiner Winterberg . At its southwestern edge

3264-586: The Phacops fossil record was that the aftermaths of the lens changes, but not the rapidly occurring evolutionary process, were fossilized. This and other data led Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge to publish their seminal paper on punctuated equilibrium in 1971. Synchrotron X-ray tomographic analysis of early Cambrian bilaterian embryonic microfossils yielded new insights of metazoan evolution at its earliest stages. The tomography technique provides previously unattainable three-dimensional resolution at

3360-569: The Renaissance . Leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotle's view that fossils were the remains of ancient life. For example, Leonardo noticed discrepancies with the biblical flood narrative as an explanation for fossil origins: If the Deluge had carried the shells for distances of three and four hundred miles from the sea it would have carried them mixed with various other natural objects all heaped up together; but even at such distances from

3456-602: The Song dynasty during the 11th century, who kept a specific seashell fossil with his own poem engraved on it. In his Dream Pool Essays published in 1088, Song dynasty Chinese scholar-official Shen Kuo hypothesized that marine fossils found in a geological stratum of mountains located hundreds of miles from the Pacific Ocean was evidence that a prehistoric seashore had once existed there and shifted over centuries of time . His observation of petrified bamboos in

3552-863: The Zittau Basin are counted as part of the latter due to their regional-geological relationships. The sedimentary sequences of the Cretaceous sea continue across a wide area of the Czech Republic to Moravia. Together these beds form the Saxon-Bohemian Cretaceous Zone. In Czech geological circles, the Elbe Valley Cretaceous is described as the foothills of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. The eroded sandstone landscape of this region

3648-402: The law of superposition ) preserved different assemblages of fossils, and that these assemblages succeeded one another in a regular and determinable order. He observed that rocks from distant locations could be correlated based on the fossils they contained. He termed this the principle of faunal succession . This principle became one of Darwin's chief pieces of evidence that biological evolution

3744-860: The protected area surrounding it that was founded in 1956 and covers 287 km². The German part of the range was also designated in May 2006 as one of the 77 most important national geotopes in Germany by the Academy of Geosciences in Hanover. In the Bohemian part of the range there has been a protected landscape area in the northeastern region since 1972 called the Elbe Sandstone Protected Landscape Area with an area of 324 km. In 2000, Bohemian Switzerland National Park

3840-463: The reunification of Germany , a national park was created in Saxon Switzerland in order to protect the unique natural character of the hill range. The 93 km area covers two physically separate regions: one near Rathen – the region of the Bastei , Polenz valley , Brand and Uttewalder Grund – and the other embracing the whole Saxon Switzerland Hinterland ( Hintere Sächsische Schweiz ) between

3936-403: The thunderbird . There is no such direct mythological connection known from prehistoric Africa, but there is considerable evidence of tribes there excavating and moving fossils to ceremonial sites, apparently treating them with some reverence. In Japan, fossil shark teeth were associated with the mythical tengu , thought to be the razor-sharp claws of the creature, documented some time after

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4032-540: The 15th century that the area now called Saxon Switzerland came under Saxon hegemony when it became part of the Margraviate of Meissen with boundaries roughly corresponding to those of today. The development of the area for tourism began in earnest in the 19th century. This was greatly helped by the building of one of the first trolleybus lines in the world: the Biela Valley Trolleybus , which

4128-453: The 16th century. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote of " tongue stones ", which he called glossopetra . These were fossil shark teeth, thought by some classical cultures to look like the tongues of people or snakes. He also wrote about the horns of Ammon , which are fossil ammonites , whence the group of shelled octopus-cousins ultimately draws its modern name. Pliny also makes one of

4224-540: The 18th century. Two Swiss artists, Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff , were appointed in 1766 to the Dresden Academy of Art . From their new, adopted home they look eastwards and saw, about a day's walk away, a hill range. It had a strange, flattish profile, without any actual summits […] They felt the landscape was reminiscent of their homeland, the Swiss Jura , and reported in their exchange of letters on

4320-739: The 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the absolute ages of rocks and the fossils they host. There are many processes that lead to fossilization , including permineralization , casts and molds, authigenic mineralization , replacement and recrystallization, adpression, carbonization , and bioimmuration. Fossils vary in size from one- micrometre (1 μm) bacteria to dinosaurs and trees, many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil normally preserves only

4416-413: The 8th century AD. In medieval China, the fossil bones of ancient mammals including Homo erectus were often mistaken for " dragon bones" and used as medicine and aphrodisiacs . In addition, some of these fossil bones are collected as "art" by scholars, who left scripts on various artifacts, indicating the time they were added to a collection. One good example is the famous scholar Huang Tingjian of

4512-453: The Elbe Sandstone Mountains are the furrows with parallel ridges between them ( grykes and clints ) that look like cart ruts and which are particularly common, as well as extensive cave systems. They are occasionally described by the term pseudokarst . The application of the concept to several erosion formations in the sandstone of this mountain range is however contentious. Czech geologists have identified in quartzite-cemented sandstone areas in

4608-563: The Elbe and the state border with the Czech Republic and including the Schrammsteinen , Großer Winterberg , Großer Zschand and Kirnitzsch valley. Saxon Switzerland is characterized by its sandstone rocks which draw many rock climbers. There are some 14,000 climbing routes on over 1,100 rock pinnacles. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Saxon Rules for rock climbing were established. They are considered to be one of

4704-662: The Elbe made the deepest incision. Later the Lusatian granodiorite was uplifted over the 600 metre thick sandstone slab along the Lusatian Fault and pushed it downwards until it fractured. This northern boundary of the sandstone deposit lies roughly along the line Pillnitz – Hohnstein – Hinterhermsdorf – Krásná Lípa . In the Tertiary period, the adjacent region of the Central Bohemian Uplands and

4800-615: The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life , the oldest animal fossils were those from the Cambrian Period, now known to be about 540 million years old. He worried about the absence of older fossils because of the implications on the validity of his theories, but he expressed hope that such fossils would be found, noting that: "only a small portion of the world is known with accuracy." Darwin also pondered

4896-566: The Proterozoic and deeper still in the Archean is only "recounted by microscopic fossils and subtle chemical signals." Molecular biologists, using phylogenetics , can compare protein amino acid or nucleotide sequence homology (i.e., similarity) to evaluate taxonomy and evolutionary distances among organisms, with limited statistical confidence. The study of fossils, on the other hand, can more specifically pinpoint when and in what organism

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4992-413: The beach, indicating the fossils were once living animals. He had previously explained them in terms of vaporous exhalations , which Persian polymath Avicenna modified into the theory of petrifying fluids ( succus lapidificatus ). Recognition of fossil seashells as originating in the sea was built upon in the 14th century by Albert of Saxony , and accepted in some form by most naturalists by

5088-714: The beginning of recorded history. The fossils themselves are referred to as the fossil record. The fossil record was one of the early sources of data underlying the study of evolution and continues to be relevant to the history of life on Earth . Paleontologists examine the fossil record to understand the process of evolution and the way particular species have evolved. Fossils have been visible and common throughout most of natural history, and so documented human interaction with them goes back as far as recorded history, or earlier. There are many examples of paleolithic stone knives in Europe, with fossil echinoderms set precisely at

5184-785: The climbing summits there are also various steep paths, on which hikers with sure-footedness and a head for heights can climb, in places, great heights with the aid of steps, ladders, metal rungs and railings at various points. Amongst the most popular of these climbing paths are the Häntzschelstiege in the Affensteinen , as well as the Heilige Stiege , the Rübezahlstiege and the Rotkehlchenstiege north of Schmilka . A Boofe (plural: Boofen )

5280-670: The deity Sopdu , the Morning Star, equivalent of Venus in Roman mythology. Fossils appear to have directly contributed to the mythology of many civilizations, including the ancient Greeks. Classical Greek historian Herodotos wrote of an area near Hyperborea where gryphons protected golden treasure. There was indeed gold mining in that approximate region , where beaked Protoceratops skulls were common as fossils. A later Greek scholar, Aristotle , eventually realized that fossil seashells from rocks were similar to those found on

5376-482: The description Quader Sandstone.". Quader is German for an ashlar or block of stone, hence the name "Square Sandstone" is also used in English. The term Quader Sandstone Mountains or Square Sandstone Mountains , introduced by Hanns Bruno Geinitz in 1849, is an historical, geological term for similar sandstone deposits, but was also used in connection with the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The fissures were formed as

5472-470: The difference between their homeland and "Saxon Switzerland". Previously, the Saxon part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains had merely been referred to as the Meißner Hochland , Meißen Oberland or Heide über Schandau . The description became popular through the publication of the name by Wilhelm Lebrecht Götzinger. In his books he described the area as Saxon Switzerland and made the term known to

5568-466: The dry northern climate zone of what is now Yan'an , Shaanxi province, China, led him to advance early ideas of gradual climate change due to bamboo naturally growing in wetter climate areas. In medieval Christendom , fossilized sea creatures on mountainsides were seen as proof of the biblical deluge of Noah's Ark . After observing the existence of seashells in mountains, the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes (c. 570 – 478 BC) speculated that

5664-415: The earlier known references to toadstones , thought until the 18th century to be a magical cure for poison originating in the heads of toads, but which are fossil teeth from Lepidotes , a Cretaceous ray-finned fish. The Plains tribes of North America are thought to have similarly associated fossils, such as the many intact pterosaur fossils naturally exposed in the region, with their own mythology of

5760-550: The earliest known stromatolites are over 3.4 billion years old. The fossil record is life's evolutionary epic that unfolded over four billion years as environmental conditions and genetic potential interacted in accordance with natural selection. The Virtual Fossil Museum Paleontology has joined with evolutionary biology to share the interdisciplinary task of outlining the tree of life, which inevitably leads backwards in time to Precambrian microscopic life when cell structure and functions evolved. Earth's deep time in

5856-464: The earth during earthquake and subsidences, and petrifies whatever comes into contact with it. As a matter of fact, the petrifaction of the bodies of plants and animals is not more extraordinary than the transformation of waters. From the 13th century to the present day, scholars pointed out that the fossil skulls of Deinotherium giganteum , found in Crete and Greece, might have been interpreted as being

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5952-478: The existence of a world previous to ours, destroyed by some kind of catastrophe. Interest in fossils, and geology more generally, expanded during the early nineteenth century. In Britain, Mary Anning 's discoveries of fossils, including the first complete ichthyosaur and a complete plesiosaurus skeleton, sparked both public and scholarly interest. Early naturalists well understood the similarities and differences of living species leading Linnaeus to develop

6048-431: The formation of sandstone beds. Its stratification is characterized by variations in the horizontal structure (deposits of clay minerals, grain sizes of quartz, differences in the grain-cement) as well as a typical but fairly small fossil presence and variably porous strata. After the Cretaceous sea had retreated ( marine regression ), the surface of the land was shaped by weathering influences and watercourses, of which

6144-422: The greatest cretaceous sandstone erosion complex in Europe. Human-induced changes caused by nearly 1,000 years of continual sandstone quarrying have also contributed in parts of the sandstone highlands to the appearance of the landscape today. The fissures (called Loose by the quarrymen) played an important role here, because they provided in effect natural divisions in the rock that were helpful when demolishing

6240-519: The hand grip, dating back to Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals . These ancient peoples also drilled holes through the center of those round fossil shells, apparently using them as beads for necklaces. The ancient Egyptians gathered fossils of species that resembled the bones of modern species they worshipped. The god Set was associated with the hippopotamus , therefore fossilized bones of hippo-like species were kept in that deity's temples. Five-rayed fossil sea urchin shells were associated with

6336-494: The left bank of the river in Bohemian Switzerland north of Děčín. The mountain range links the Ore Mountains in the west with the Lusatian Highlands range of the Sudetes in the east. Saxon Switzerland and the Zittau Mountains of the Lusatian Mountains form the Saxon-Bohemian Chalk Sandstone Region . The most striking characteristic of this deeply dissected rocky mountain range is the extraordinary variety of terrain within

6432-535: The limits of fossilization. Fossils of two enigmatic bilaterians, the worm-like Markuelia and a putative, primitive protostome , Pseudooides , provide a peek at germ layer embryonic development. These 543-million-year-old embryos support the emergence of some aspects of arthropod development earlier than previously thought in the late Proterozoic. The preserved embryos from China and Siberia underwent rapid diagenetic phosphatization resulting in exquisite preservation, including cell structures. This research

6528-449: The nature of the rock surface. For example, collapse caves , small hole-like cavities ( honeycomb weathering ) with hourglass-shaped pillars, chimneys , crevices and mighty, rugged rock faces. Many morphological formations in the rocky landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains are suspected to have been formed as a consequence of karstification . Important indicators of such processes in the polygenetic and polymorphic erosion landscape of

6624-431: The northern part of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, karst features in the shape of spherical caverns and cave formations. According to them, these emerged as a result of solution processes by water in complex interactions with iron compounds from neighbouring or intrusive magmatic-volcanic rocks. The variation in relief in these sandstone regions is explained on the basis of these processes. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains are

6720-446: The origins of free climbing . Ropes and bolts may only be used for safety but never as a means of climbing. The use of chalk and common means of protection such as nuts and friends is also not permitted; instead knotted nylon slings are used. With a few exceptions, climbing is only practised and permitted at freestanding rock towers. A Saxon oddity is the concept of a Baustelle (literally "building site") where climbers scale

6816-545: The problems involved in matching rocks of the same age across continents . Family-tree relationships also help to narrow down the date when lineages first appeared. For instance, if fossils of B or C date to X million years ago and the calculated "family tree" says A was an ancestor of B and C, then A must have evolved earlier. It is also possible to estimate how long ago two living clades diverged, in other words approximately how long ago their last common ancestor must have lived, by assuming that DNA mutations accumulate at

6912-443: The ratio of the radioactive element to its decay products shows how long ago the radioactive element was incorporated into the rock. Radioactive elements are common only in rocks with a volcanic origin, and so the only fossil-bearing rocks that can be dated radiometrically are volcanic ash layers, which may provide termini for the intervening sediments. Consequently, palaeontologists rely on stratigraphy to date fossils. Stratigraphy

7008-587: The region and many castles degenerated into bases for robber barons . Not until the middle of the 16th century, when the Wettins captured many of the castles did the situation stabilise. Today, these castles and ruins, some of which are well preserved, are popular with tourists, who make their way to these sites up steep climbing paths. These castles include: Hohnstein , Hockstein , Neurathen , Altrathen , Königstein , Lilienstein , Falkenstein , Frienstein , and Rauschenstein . In September 1990, even before

7104-632: The region was settled by Slavs and was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia during the Middle Ages . About 1000 years ago Bohemian -Saxon Switzerland was the borderland of three Slavic tribes. The Nisane tribe (east of the Elbe from Dresden to Pirna), the Milzane tribe (from today's Upper Lusatia) and in the south the Dacine tribe shaped the political and economic landscape at that time. It was not until

7200-462: The relative ages of rock strata as determined by the early paleontologists and stratigraphers . Since the early years of the twentieth century, absolute dating methods, such as radiometric dating (including potassium/argon , argon/argon , uranium series , and, for very recent fossils, radiocarbon dating ) have been used to verify the relative ages obtained by fossils and to provide absolute ages for many fossils. Radiometric dating has shown that

7296-456: The rock can have a visible impact on the landscape. Elbe Sandstone gets its characteristic cuboid appearance from its thick horizontal strata ( massive bedding ) and its vertical fissures . In 1839 Bernhard Cotta wrote about this in his comments on the geognostic map : "Vertical fissures and cracks cut through, often virtually at right angles, the horizontal layers and, as a result, parallelepiped bodies are formed, that have given rise to

7392-491: The sandstone landscape is a result of the subsequent chemical and physical erosion and biological processes acting on the rocks formed from those sands laid down during the Cretaceous Period. The inlets of a Cretaceous sea, together with marine currents, carried away sand over a very long period of time into a shallow zone of the sea and then the diagenetic processes at differing pressure regimes resulted in

7488-471: The sandstone plate along lines that intersected like a grid and this, combined with the simultaneously increasing stream velocity of the Elbe and regressive erosion in its side valleys, offered new lines of attack and new routes for the destructive power of water. Initially the larger table hills ( Lilienstein ), or those already deeply fissured like Zirkelstein , Kaiserkrone or already forested ( Kohlbornstein ), remained, but these too broke up later as

7584-529: The sandstone plate was uplifted by over 200 metres at the Karsdorf Fault , whereby the slab was tilted even more and increased the gradient of the Elbe River. The water masses cut valleys into the rock with their streambeds and contributed in places to the formation of the rock faces. Over time the gradients reduced, the streambed of the Elbe widened out and changed its course time and again, partly as

7680-429: The sea and that they were still living when the strait of Gibraltar was cut through. In the mountains of Parma and Piacenza multitudes of shells and corals with holes may be seen still sticking to the rocks.... In 1666, Nicholas Steno examined a shark, and made the association of its teeth with the "tongue stones" of ancient Greco-Roman mythology, concluding that those were not in fact the tongues of venomous snakes, but

7776-423: The sea we see the oysters all together and also the shellfish and the cuttlefish and all the other shells which congregate together, found all together dead; and the solitary shells are found apart from one another as we see them every day on the sea-shores. And we find oysters together in very large families, among which some may be seen with their shells still joined together, indicating that they were left there by

7872-586: The skulls of the Cyclopes of Greek mythology , and are possibly the origin of that Greek myth. Their skulls appear to have a single eye-hole in the front, just like their modern elephant cousins, though in fact it's actually the opening for their trunk. In Norse mythology , echinoderm shells (the round five-part button left over from a sea urchin) were associated with the god Thor , not only being incorporated in thunderstones , representations of Thor's hammer and subsequent hammer-shaped crosses as Christianity

7968-501: The smallest area. Unique amongst the Central European Uplands are the constant changes between plains , ravines , table mountains and rocky regions with undeveloped areas of forest. This diversity is ecologically significant. The variety of different locations, each with its own conditions in terms of soil and microclimate , has produced an enormous richness of species . The numbers of ferns and mosses alone

8064-467: The sudden appearance of many groups (i.e. phyla ) in the oldest known Cambrian fossiliferous strata. Since Darwin's time, the fossil record has been extended to between 2.3 and 3.5 billion years. Most of these Precambrian fossils are microscopic bacteria or microfossils . However, macroscopic fossils are now known from the late Proterozoic. The Ediacara biota (also called Vendian biota) dating from 575 million years ago collectively constitutes

8160-552: The super unit Saxon Highlands and Uplands ( Sächsisches Bergland und Mittelgebirge ). The Lusatian Mountains between Saxon Switzerland and the Zittau Mountains also belong to it, whereas Meynen had grouped it with the loess hill country to the north and east into the major unit of Upper Lusatia ( Oberlausitz ); to the west the new super unit is continued by the main unit groups of the Ore Mountains and Vogtland . See Elbe Sandstone Mountains (Geology section) As

8256-451: The teeth of some long-extinct species of shark. Robert Hooke (1635–1703) included micrographs of fossils in his Micrographia and was among the first to observe fossil forams . His observations on fossils, which he stated to be the petrified remains of creatures some of which no longer existed, were published posthumously in 1705. William Smith (1769–1839) , an English canal engineer, observed that rocks of different ages (based on

8352-584: The two mountain ranges, the Elbe Sandstone Mountains and the Lusatian Mountains , is located on Czech territory, which is why these natural regions are geographically separated from one another. The Ecosystem and Regional Character working group of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig has now, at the beginning of the 21st century, grouped all ranges in the Saxon-Bohemian border region into

8448-524: The world was once inundated in a great flood that buried living creatures in drying mud. In 1027, the Persian Avicenna explained fossils' stoniness in The Book of Healing : If what is said concerning the petrifaction of animals and plants is true, the cause of this (phenomenon) is a powerful mineralizing and petrifying virtue which arises in certain stony spots, or emanates suddenly from

8544-484: The world. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains have numerous facilities for cure and rehabilitation. The discovery of ferrous and sulphurous sources in Bad Schandau in 1730 led to its development as a health resort and the building of swimming baths . Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland ( German : Sächsische Schweiz ) is a hilly climbing area and national park in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains . It

8640-417: Was a systematic banishment of Bohemian influence and numerous local military conflicts erupted around strategically important fortifications. These fortifications primarily serve to protect the border and trading routes. Due to a lack of central power this protective function was left to local knights. The progressive division of the area due to the hereditary distribution of estates upset the economic balance of

8736-458: Was adopted, but also kept in houses to garner Thor's protection. These grew into the shepherd's crowns of English folklore, used for decoration and as good luck charms, placed by the doorway of homes and churches. In Suffolk , a different species was used as a good-luck charm by bakers, who referred to them as fairy loaves , associating them with the similarly shaped loaves of bread they baked. More scientific views of fossils emerged during

8832-421: Was established with an area of 79 km, bringing around 700 km of the range under protection as a natural and cultural landscape. The Elbe Sandstone mountains have been a popular destination for tourists for more than 200 years, and for climbers for more than 100 years. It is also a popular recreation area for the nearby Saxon capital Dresden . Places of interest include the Bastei cliffs near Rathen ,

8928-500: Was formed from depositions that accumulated on the bottom of the sea millions of years ago. Large rivers carried sand and other eroded debris into the Cretaceous sea. Rough quartz sand, clay and fine marl sank and became lithified layer by layer. A compact sandstone sequence developed, about 20 x 30 kilometres wide and up to 600 metres thick dating to the lower Cenomanian to Santonian stages . The tremendous variety of shapes in

9024-470: Was in operation from 1901 to 1904 and was operated from Königstein. Romantic artists were inspired by the beauty of wilderness, like the painter Ludwig Richter or the composer Carl Maria von Weber , who set his famous opera Der Freischütz with its Wolfsschlucht ("Wolf's Gorge") scene set near the town of Rathen . In the Nazi era the description of German territories as Schweiz ("Switzerland")

9120-413: Was officially banned. For that reason, with effect from 19 October 1938, the official term "Sächsische Schweiz" was replaced by "Amtshauptmannschaft Pirna" and from January 1939 by "Kreis Pirna" in the names of the local places of Königstein , Obervogelgesang , Ottendorf , Porschdorf , Rathen , Rathewalde , Rathmannsdorf and Reinhardtsdorf . When Germans began to settle in the 13th century, there

9216-408: Was real. Georges Cuvier came to believe that most if not all the animal fossils he examined were remains of extinct species. This led Cuvier to become an active proponent of the geological school of thought called catastrophism . Near the end of his 1796 paper on living and fossil elephants he said: All of these facts, consistent among themselves, and not opposed by any report, seem to me to prove

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