RIESENGEBIRGE or GIANT MOUNTAINS, a lofty and rugged group on the boundary between Prussian Silesia and Bohemia, between the upper courses of the Elbe and the Oder. They are continued towards the north-west in the Erzgebirge, the Thuringian Forest and the Harz Mountains. Adjoining the Iserge birge and the Lausitzergebirge on the west, and the Eulengebirge and the Adlergebirge on the east and south-east, the Riesenge birge proper trend south-east and north-west between the sources of the Zacken and the Bober, for a distance of 23 m., with a breadth of 14 miles. They cover an area of about 425 sq.m., three-quarters of which is in Czecho-Slovakia, the rest in Germany. The boundary line follows the crest of the principal ridge (Riesen kamm, average height 4,00o ft.), which stretches along the northern side of the group. The principal peaks are the Reif trager ft.), the Hohes Rad ft.), the Great Sturmhaube (4,862 ft.), the Little Sturmhaube (4,646 ft.), and, near the east extremity, the Schneekoppe (5,258 ft.), the loftiest mountain in northern or central Germany. Roughly parallel to this northern ridge, and separated from it by a long narrow valley of the Sie bengriinde, there extends on the south a lower chain, of broad massive "saddles," with comparatively few peaks. The chief heights here are Kesselkoppe (4,708 ft.), the Krkonose (4,849 ft.), the Ziegenriicken and the Brunnenberg (5,072 ft.). From both ridges spurs are sent off, whence a magnificent view is ob tained from Breslau to Prague; the lowlands of Silesia, watered by the Oder, and those of Bohemia, intersected by the Elbe and Moldau, appear to lie mapped in relief near the Schneekoppe. A group of isolated columnar rocks known as the Adersbacher Felsen occur in a valley on the Bohemian side of the Riesenge birge, 9 m. from Braunau.
On its northern side this mountain group has a rugged and precipitous slope from the Hirschberg valley; but on its southern slope, towards Bohemia, a more gradual one. The Bohemian
ridge is cleft about the middle by a deep gorge through which pour the headwaters of the river Elbe, which finds its source in the Siebengriinde. A great number of small streams also rise among these mountains and small lakes and tarns are not unfrequent. The Great and Little Schneegruben—two deep rocky gorge-like valleys in which snow remains all the year round—lie to the north of the Hohes Rad.
A wide range of rock formations occurs in the Riesengebirge. Archaean gneisses and schists form an important part, but Palaeo zoic and Mesozoic rocks (especially Jurassic and Cretaceous) are also important. Variscan and Tertiary folding affected the region and north-easterly faults run along the foot of the Iserge birge and Riesengebirge. Extensive peat moors occupy many of the mountain slopes and valleys. The lower parts of the mountains are clad with forests of oak, beech, pine and fir ; above 1,600 ft. only the last two kinds of trees are found, and beyond about 3,95o ft. only the dwarf pine (Pines Pumilio). Various alpine plants are found, some of them having been artificially introduced on the Schneekoppe. Wheat is grown to an elevation of 1,800 ft. above the sea and oats as high as 2,700 feet.
The Riesengebirge is easily accessible by railway, several branches from the main lines on both sides, penetrating the val leys, and thus many spots are a good deal frequented in the sum mer. The Schneekoppe and other summits are annually visited by numbers of travellers, notably the spas of Warmbrunn (near Hirschberg) and Flinsberg on the Gneis, and Gorbersdorf, with its sanatorium. The Riesengebirge is the legendary home of Number Nip (Rtibezahl), a goblin of German folklore.