Region: High Ash Mountains

High Ash Mountains (Hrubý Jeseník) – a mesoregion that is part of the Eastern Sudetes and the Jeseníky mountain range. It is located in north-eastern Bohemia – on the border of Moravia and Silesia, in the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions. It is bordered to the north-west by the Golden Mountains, to the north and north-east by the Opava Mountains, to the east and south-east by the Low Jeseník Mountains, and to the west and south-west by the Hanušovická vrchovina. The highest peak is Praděd, 1491 m a.s.l., with the Praděd TV Tower, 146 m high.

According to the geomorphological division proposed by prof. Jaromír Demek, the following microregions and its parts have been identified in the High Ash Mountains: Keprnická hornatina, Medvědská hornatina, Pradědská hornatina.
Geologically, Vysoky Jeseník belongs to the geological unit of the Eastern Sudetes (silesikum). It is built of metamorphic rocks, mainly gneisses, various types of mica schists, amphibolites, quartzites, marbles and others. The extreme eastern part is built of poorly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks belonging to the Silesian-Moravian zone (Andelskohorská Formation), mainly phyllites, metamudstones, clay metal shales, and occasionally fine-grained sandstones.

In the area of the High Ash Mountains, due to its height, there are vegetation layers. The foothills are now meadows and arable fields. The lower montane zone formerly consisted of mixed forests, with a predominance of beech, which were mostly replaced by spruce forests. The upper montane zone is currently made up of spruce forests planted by man. Near the upper limit of the montane forest spruces assume a dwarf form, shaped by the winds blowing here. They are accompanied by typical mountain species, such as the Carpathian birch, Silesian willow or rowan. Herbaceous species and rock lichens dominate in the upper subalpine zone. Originally, there was no mountain pine in Jeseníky, which was planted here at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hikes in the High Ash Mountains: