The Most Basin (also known as North Bohemian Basin; , ) is a structural basin and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is named after the city of Most. It forms the southwestern and central parts of the ÃÂstÃÂ nad Labem Region. It is among the richest European deposits of lignite, which has been extracted here since the second half of 19th century, mostly by extensive surface mining.
The Most Basin is a mesoregion of the Podkruà ¡nohorská Macroregion within the Bohemian Massif. It is further subdivided into the microregions of à ½atec Basin and Chomutov-Teplice Basin.
A flat landscape without peaks is typical for the Most Basin. The highest point of the territory is a contour line near Libouchec, at above sea level. There are several low hills with an elevation of 350âÂÂ380 in the southwestern part of the basin.
The basin lies between the Central and Eastern Ore Mountains to the north and the RakovnÃÂk Uplands to the south. To the east the basin borders on the Central Bohemian Uplands and the foothills of Elbe Sandstone Mountains as well as in the southeast on the geomorphological region of the Lower Ohà Âe Table. In the west it reaches the Doupov Mountains.
The Most Basin is a depression filled with Tertiary sediments. Its main filling is of Miocene age and they are mainly volcanic rocks, pyroclastic sediments, clays and sands together with important deposits of lignite and ceramic clays.
The Most Basin has an area of and an average elevation of . The territory has an elongated shape from southwest to northeast.
There are several significant watercourses in the area. The largest rivers are Ohà Âe and BÃÂlina. The area is rich on reservoirs and artificial lakes as a consequence of land reclamation after coal mining. The largest bodies of water are lakes Milada, Most and Matylda, and the Nechranice Reservoir.
Natural conditions have given rise to larger settlements in the area. The largest cities and towns in the Most Basin are Chomutov, LitvÃÂnov, Jirkov, à ½atec and Krupka. Partly located in the territory are ÃÂstànad Labem, Most, Teplice, Kadaà  and BÃÂlina.
The basin is known for lignite mining. 30âÂÂ40 thousand tonnes of coal are mined here every year.
The region is largely agricultural. The area around à ½atec is well known for hops cultivation. Saaz hops or à ½atec hops is a protected designation of origin.