Benešov Uplands

The Benešov Uplands or Benešov Hills (Benešovská pahorkatina) are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region. It belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. It is named after Benešov, which is the most populated town in the territory.

Geomorphology
The Benešov Uplands is a mesoregion of the Central Bohemian Hills within the Bohemian Massif. It is a rugged hilly area with erosional denudation relief, tectonically disturbed, with distinct structural ridges and inselbergs. The uplands are further subdivided into the microregions of Březnice Uplands and Dobříš Uplands.

There are a lot of medium-high hills. The highest peaks are located in the southwestern part of the territory. The highest peaks of the Benešov Uplands are:
 * Stráž, 638 m
 * Pteč, 633 m
 * Hrby, 627 m
 * Špalková hora, 620 m
 * Drahenický vrch, 615 m
 * Levín, 612 m
 * Vraneč, 608 m
 * Kozí vrch, 603 m
 * Mumlin, 602 m
 * Holý vrch, 599 m

Geography
The Benešov Uplands stretches from southwest to northeast. The uplands have an area of 2410 sqkm and an average elevation of 366 m. It is the fourth largest mesoregion in the Czech Republic.

The main watercourse is the Vltava River, which flows across the territory from south to north. Several reservoirs built on the Vltava are located in the Benešov Uplands: Orlík, Kamýk, Slapy, Štěchovice and Vrané. The second significant river is the Sázava, which flows from the east until it joins the Vltava.

Suitable natural conditions contributed to the creation of many settlements in the Benešov Uplands, but there are no large cities. The most populated towns in the territory are Benešov, Dobříš, Sedlčany, Týnec nad Sázavou, Jílové u Prahy, Bystřice, Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, Kostelec nad Černými lesy and Mnichovice.

Geology and pedology
The geological bedrock is dominated by granites, granodiorites, diorites and orthogneisses. The soils are shallow or medium deep. Stone is quarried in the territory. The area is also historically associated with gold mining.

Protection of nature
Despite the large area of the territory, there are almost no large-scale protected areas. The only exception is a negligible part of the Brdy Protected Landscape Area, which extends to the territory in the west. The most valuable small-scale protected areas are the national nature reserves Ve Studeném and Voděradské bučiny.