Bohemian Switzerland | Points of Interest
Kaňon Labe (Elbe Canyon)
This is one of the most valuable parts of the Elbe Sandstones PLA. The erosive activity of the Elbe River created in the cretaceous sediments a canyon 300 metres deep in places - the largest sandstone canyon in Europe – and uncovered the ancient basement in the lower part. The Elbe Canyon represents the habitat of an umber of endangered, listed and rare species. The gravel-sand depositions are still the home of the strapwort (the last site of this critically endangered species in the CR), and the European beaver (endangered species) has returned to the Elbe banks after many decades. Nesting in the canyon are birds such as the peregrine falcon, penduline tit and common sandpiper. Large natural forests, such as floodplain forsests on the banks, beech forests on the Canyon slopes and relic pine forests on the edges of the sandstone rocks, have been preserved on the right bank of the Elbe. The unique value of the landscape is particularly apparent from the vantage points over the canyon (Belvedere near Labská Stráň, Rose Crest - Růžový hřeben). An international railway and road pass through the canyon. The biggest challenge the natural and landscape values of the canyon are currently facing is the planned construction of a water reservoir in Prostřední Žleb.
