The Waldviertel belongs to the flattened mountains of the Bohemian Massif, the big crystalline area in the heart of Europe. There one finds crystalline and metamorphic rocks like granite, gneiss, slate etc.

In the south, the Danube embedded itself in the crystalline soil and divided the Dunkelsteiner Forest from the rest of the Bohemian Massif. Following this valley of beautiful scenery, the unique Wachau valley, the Danube enters the flat foothills of the alpine upland.

On its further course, the Danube cuts through the easternmost foothills of the Alps (the Vienna woods) at Greifenstein-Klosterneuburg and crosses the Vienna Basin, which was formed in the Tertiary and is filled with sediments.

The Vienna Basin contains Austria´s biggest oil and gas-fields. At its fracture zones ("thermal line") there are hot springs (Baden, Bad Vöslau). In the west the Vienna Basin borders the Vienna woods and the limestone Alps.
In the south the basin borders the crystalline regions Semmering, Bucklige Welt, Rosalien- and Leitha mountains.

During the ice ages Lower Austria was mostly ice-free. Sediments from the detritus of the moraines, which were formed in front of the glaciers, were blown away by the wind. This fine sand covers today wide areas of the Weinviertel and forms the fertile soil for wine growing.