The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain ranges and are the highest part of the Bohemian Massif. They stretch from the Saxon capital of Dresden in the northwest across to the region of Lower Silesia in Poland and to the city of Ostrava in the Czech Republic in the east. Geographically the Sudetes are a Mittelgebirge with some characteristics typical of high mountains. Its plateaus and subtle summit relief makes the Sudetes more akin to mountains of Northern Europe than to the Alps. The modern Sudetes are probably Ptolemy's Askiburgion mountains. It has also been proposed that Ptolemy's Askiburgion and Sudeti are the same mountains, with one being measured from the north, and one from the south.
Ptolemy wrote "Σούδητα" in Greek, which is a neuter plural. Latin mons, however, is a masculine, hence Sudeti. The Latin version, and the modern geographical identification, is likely to be a scholastic innovation, as it is not attested in classical Latin literature. The meaning of the name is not known. In one hypothetical derivation, it means Mountains of Wild Boars, relying on Indo-European *su-, "pig". A better etymology perhaps is from Latin sudis, plural sudes, "spines", which can be used of spiny fish or spiny terrain.
Subdivisions
The Sudetes are usually divided into the following mesoregions:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Macroregion
! Name
! Native name
! Highest peak
! Height
|-
|rowspan=15|Western Sudetes
| West Lusatian Foothills
| Westlausitzer Hügel- und Bergland (DE)
| Hochstein
|
|-
| Lusatian Gefilde
| Oberlausitzer Gefilde (DE)
| Valtenberg
|
|-
| Eastern Upper Lusatia
| Östliche Oberlausitz (DE)<br>Pogórze Wschodniołużyckie (PL)<br>Žitavská pánev (CZ)
| Prosečský hřeben
|
|-
| Lusatian Highlands
| Šluknovská pahorkatina (CZ)<br>Lausitzer Bergland (DE)
| Hrazený
|
|-
| Lusatian Mountains
| Lužické hory (CZ)<br>Lausitzer Gebirge (DE)
| Lausche
|
|-
| Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge
| Ještědsko-kozákovský hřbet (CZ)
| Ještěd
|
|-
| Jizera Foothills
| Pogórze Izerskie (PL)<br>Frýdlantská pahorkatina (CZ)
| Andělský vrch
|
|-
| Jizera Mountains
| Jizerské hory (CZ)<br>Góry Izerskie (PL)
| Wysoka Kopa
|
|-
| Kaczawskie Foothills
| Pogórze Kaczawskie (PL)
| Ostrzyca
|
|-
| Kaczawskie Mountains
| Góry Kaczawskie (PL)
| Okole
|
|-
| Jelenia Góra Valley
| Kotlina Jeleniogórska (PL)
| Krzywousty
|
|-
| Rudawy Janowickie
| Rudawy Janowickie (PL)
| Skalnik
|
|-
| Giant Mountains
| Krkonoše (CZ)<br>Karkonosze (PL)
| Sněžka
|
|-
| Giant Mountains Foothills
| Krkonošské podhůří (CZ)
| Hejlov
|
|-
| Wałbrzych Highlands
| Pogórze Wałbrzyskie (PL)
| Sas
|
|-
|rowspan=12|Central Sudetes
| Wałbrzych Mountains
| Góry Wałbrzyskie (PL)
| Borowa
|
|-
| Stone Mountains
| Góry Kamienne (PL)
| Waligóra
|
|-
| Broumov Highlands
| Broumovská vrchovina (CZ)
| Královecký Špičák
|
|-
| Owl Mountains
| Góry Sowie (PL)
| Wielka Sowa
|
|-
| Nowa Ruda Depression
| Obniżenie Noworudzkie (PL)
| Włodzicka Góra
|
|-
| Ścinawka Depression
| Obniżenie Ścinawki (PL)
| Gardzień
|
|-
| Stołowe Mountains
| Góry Stołowe (PL)<br>Stolové hory (CZ)
| Szczeliniec Wielki
|
|-
| Bardzkie Mountains
| Góry Bardzkie (PL)
| Szeroka Góra
|
|-
| Bystrzyckie Mountains
| Góry Bystrzyckie (PL)<br>Bystřické hory (CZ)
| Jagodna
|
|-
| Orlické Mountains
| Orlické hory (CZ)<br>Góry Orlickie (PL)
| Velká Deštná
|
|-
| Orlické Foothills
| Podorlická pahorkatina (CZ)<br>Pogórze Orlickie (PL)
| Špičák
|
|-
| Kłodzko Valley
| Kotlina Kłodzka (PL)<br>Kladská kotlina (CZ)
| Wapniarka
|
|-
|rowspan=8|Sudeten Foreland
| Strzegom Hills
| Wzgórza Strzegomskie (PL)
| Góra Krzyżowa
|
|-
| Sudeten Depression
| Obniżenie Podsudeckie (PL)
| Jabłoniec
|
|-
| Świdnicka Plain
| Równina Świdnicka (PL)
| Popiel
|
|-
| Ślęża Massif
| Masyw Ślęży (PL)
| Ślęża
|
|-
| Niemczańsko-Strzelińskie Hills
| Wzgórza Niemczańsko-Strzelińskie (PL)
| Brzeźnica
|
|-
| Otmuchów Depression
| Obniżenie Otmuchowskie (PL)
| Grzbietnik
|
|-
| Vidnava Lowland
| Vidnavská nížina (CZ)<br>Przedgórze Paczkowskie (PL)
| contour line
|
|-
| Žulová Hilly Land
| Žulovská pahorkatina (CZ)
| Boží hora
|
|-
|rowspan=8|Eastern Sudetes
| Golden Mountains
| Rychlebské hory (CZ)<br>Góry Złote (PL)
| Smrk
|
|-
| Králický Sněžník Mountains
| Masyw Śnieżnika (PL)<br>Králický Sněžník (CZ)
| Králický Sněžník
|
|-
| Opawskie Mountains
| Zlatohorská vrchovina (CZ)<br>Góry Opawskie (PL)
| Příčný vrch
|
|-
| Hrubý Jeseník
| Hrubý Jeseník (CZ)
| Praděd
|
|-
| Hanušovice Highlands
| Hanušovická vrchovina (CZ)
| Jeřáb
|
|-
| Mohelnice Depression
| Mohelnická brázda (CZ)
| Homůlka
|
|-
| Zábřeh Highlands
| Zábřežská vrchovina (CZ)
| Lázek
|
|-
| Nízký Jeseník
| Nízký Jeseník (CZ)
| Slunečná
|
|}
High Sudetes (, , ) is together name for the ranges of Giant Mountains, Hrubý Jeseník and Králický Sněžník Mountains.
Climate
thumb|[[Alpine tundra|Hala Izerska (Polish Pole of Cold) in the Jizera Mountains]]
The highest mountains, those located along the Czech–Polish border have annual precipitations around .
Vegetation
Settlement, logging and clearance has left forest pockets in the foothills with dense and continuous forest being found in the upper parts of the mountains. Besides altitude the distribution of some alpine plants is influenced by soil. This is the case of Aster alpinus that grows preferentially on calcareous ground. Forest-free areas above the timber line have increased historically by deforestation Plate tectonic movements during the Variscan orogeny assembled together four major and two to three lesser tectonostratigraphic terranes. Various terranes of the Sudetes are likely extensions of the Armorican terrane while other terranes may be the fringes of the ancient Baltica continent.
Once the main phase of deformation of the orogeny was over basins that had formed in-between metamorphic rock massifs were filled by sedimentary rock in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. During and after sedimentation large granitic plutons intruded the crust. Viewed in a map today these plutons make up about 15% the Sudetes.