Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Germany

Geography

The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in an 800 km (500 mi) arc (curved line) from east to west and is 200 km (120 mi) in width. The mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km (1.6 mi). The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, and stretching eastward through mid and southern Switzerland. The range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and southeast to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. Depending on the definitions used, the Alpokalja foothills in western Hungary may also qualify as part of the Alps.

To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the southern border of Bavaria in Germany.

Geology

Important geological concepts were established as naturalists began studying the rock formations of the Alps in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century, the now-defunct idea of geosynclines was used to explain the presence of "folded" mountain chains. This theory was replaced in the mid-20th century by the theory of plate tectonics.

The formation of the Alps (the Alpine orogeny) was an episodic process that began about 300 million years ago. In the Paleozoic Era the Pangaean supercontinent consisted of a single tectonic plate; it broke into separate plates during the Mesozoic Era and the Tethys sea developed between Laurasia and Gondwana during the Jurassic Period.

Ecology

Thirteen thousand species of plants have been identified in the Alpine regions. Alpine plants are grouped by habitat and soil type which can be limestone or non-calcareous. The habitats range from meadows, bogs, and woodland (deciduous and coniferous) areas to soil-less scree and moraines, and rock faces and ridges. A natural vegetation limit with altitude is given by the presence of the chief deciduous trees—oak, beech, ash and sycamore maple. These do not reach the same elevation, nor are they often found growing together, but their upper limit corresponds accurately enough to the change from a temperate to a colder climate that is further proved by a change in the presence of wild herbaceous vegetation.

History

When the ice melted after the Würm glaciation, Paleolithic settlements were established along the lake shores and in cave systems. Evidence of human habitation has been found in caves near the Vercors Cave System, close to Grenoble and Echirolles. In Austria, the Mondsee lake shows evidence of houses built on piles. Standing stones have been found in the Alpine areas of France and Italy. About 200,000 drawings and etchings have been documented, and are known as the Rock Drawings in Valcamonica.

A mummy of a Neolithic human, known as Ötzi, was discovered on the Similaun.

Geography

The Jutland peninsula reaches from the sandbar spit of Grenen on the North Jutlandic Island in the north, to the banks of the Elbe in the south. The peninsula is also called the Cimbric peninsula.

Jutland as a cultural-geographical term mostly only refers to the Danish part of the peninsula, from Grenen to the Danish-German border. Sometimes, the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein down to the Eider (Southern Schleswig), is also included in the cultural-geographical definition of Jutland, because the Eider was historically the southern border of Denmark and the cultural and linguistic boundary between the Nordic countries and Germany from c. 850 to the 18th century.

Geology

Geologically, the Mid Jutland Region and the North Jutland Region as well as the Capital Region of Denmark are located in the north of Denmark which is rising because of post-glacial rebound.

Some circular depressions in Jutland may be remnants of collapsed pingos that developed during the Last Ice Age. The surface of southwest Jutland is dominated by sediments of the Saale glaciation, while deposits of the Weichselian glaciation form the surface layers in the northern and eastern Denmark. During the Saalian ice age, the ice sheet again reached Central Europe. Signs of another three glacial advances have been found in Denmark dating back to this period.

History

Jutland has historically been one of the three lands of Denmark, the other two being Scania and Zealand. Before that, according to Ptolemy, Jutland or the Cimbric Chersonese was the home of Teutons, Cimbri, and Charudes.

Many Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Continental Europe to Great Britain starting around 450 AD. The Angles gave their name to the new emerging kingdoms called England (i.e., "Angle-land"). The Kingdom of Kent in south east England is associated with Jutish origins and migration, also attributed by Bede in the Ecclesiastical History. This is also supported by the archaeological record, with extensive Jutish finds in Kent from the fifth and sixth centuries.

Saxons and Frisii migrated to the region in the early part of the Christian era.

Geography

The Higher Vosges or High Vosges (Hautes Vosges), extending in the southern part of the range from Belfort to the river valley of the Bruche. The rounded summits of the Hautes Vosges are called ballons in French, literally "balloons".

The Lower Vosges or Low Vosges (48 km, 30 mi), commonly known as North Vosges, a sandstone plateau ranging from 300 metres (1,000 ft) to 560 metres (1,850 ft) high, between the Col de Saverne and the source of the Lauter.

In addition, the term "Central Vosges" is used to designate the various lines of summits, especially those above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in elevation. The French department of Vosges is named after the range.

Climate

Meteorologically, as a consequence of the Foehn effect the difference between the eastern and western mean slopes of the range is very marked. The main air streams come generally from the west and southwest, so the Alsatian central plains just under the Hautes-Vosges receive much less precipitation than the southwest slope of the Vosges Mountains. The highlands of the canton of Remiremont receive as annual rainfall or snowfall more than 2,000 mm (79 in) of precipitation yearly, whereas some dry countryside near Colmar receives less than 500 mm (20 in) of precipitation in the event of insufficient storms. The temperature is much lower in the west front of the mountains than in the low plains behind the massif, especially in summer.

History

The massif known in Latin as Vosago mons or Vosego silva, sometimes Vogesus mons, was extended to the vast woods covering the region. Later, German speakers referred to the same region as Vogesen or Wasgenwald.

Over the centuries, settlement population density grew gradually, as was typical for a forested region. Forests were cleared for agriculture, livestock and early industrial factories (such as charcoal works and glassworks) and the water mills used water power. Concentrations of settlement and immigration took place and not only in areas where minerals were found. In the mining area of the Lièpvrette valley, for example, there was an influx of Saxon miners and mining specialists.

Geography

The Bohemian Forest consists of densely forested mountains with an average elevation of 800–1,400 metres (2,600–4,600 ft). On the Bavarian side, the highest peak is Großer Arber at 1,456 metres (4,777 ft). On the Bohemian and Austrian side, the highest peak is the Plöckenstein or Plechý in Czech at 1,378 metres (4,521 ft). The most eastern peak is the Sternstein at 1,125 metres (3,691 ft). The range is one of the oldest in Europe, and its mountains have eroded into round forms with few rocky parts. Typical for the Bohemian Forest are plateaus of about 1,000–1,200 metres (3,300–3,900 ft) elevation with fairly harsh climatic condictions and numerous peat bogs.

History

According to archaeological findings, the Bohemian Forest was not significantly populated during the Paleolithic era or the Stone Age, dating as far back as 9000 BC. Initial settlements of a more permanent character first appeared in southwest Bohemia during the Bronze Age between 3,000 and 1,000 years BC. In the 1st century AD, the northern part of the forest was inhabited by Gallo-Romans and by Germanic tribes.

The Celts were gradually forced out by Germanic tribes (the Marcomanni), and Celtic settlements fell in disrepair. With the subsequent departure of the Marcomanni, the Bohemian Forest continued to evolve without human influence. The forests only changed their character after the arrival of the Slavs in the region in the 6th century, who sought refuge there.

Geography

The Harz has a length of 110 kilometres (68 mi), stretching from the town of Seesen in the northwest to Eisleben in the east, and a width of 35 kilometres (22 mi). It occupies an area of 2,226 square kilometres (859 sq mi), and is divided into the Upper Harz (Oberharz) in the northwest, which is up to 800 m high, apart from the 1,100 m high Brocken massif, and the Lower Harz (Unterharz) in the east which is up to around 400 m high and whose plateaus are capable of supporting arable farming.

The following districts (Kreise) fall wholly or partly within the Harz: Goslar and Göttingen in the west, Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz in the north and east, and Nordhausen in the south.

Geology and pedology

The Harz is the most geologically diverse of the German Mittelgebirge, although it is overwhelmingly dominated by base-poor rocks. The most common rocks lying on the surface are argillaceous shales, slaty (geschieferte) greywackes and granite intrusions in the shape of two large igneous rock masses or plutons. The Gießen-Harz surface layer of the Rhenohercynian zone, which is widespread in the Harz, consists mainly of flysch. Well-known and economically important are the limestone deposits around Elbingerode and the Gabbro of Bad Harzburg. The landscapes of the Harz are characterised by steep mountain ridges, stone runs, relatively flat plateaus with many raised bogs and long, narrow V-shaped valleys, of which the Bode Gorge, the Oker and Selke valleys are the best known.

History

The Harz was first mentioned as Hartingowe in an 814 deed by the Carolingian King Louis the Pious. Settlement within the mountains began only 1000 years ago, as in ancient times dense forests made the region almost inaccessible. The suffix -rode (from German: roden, to stub) denotes a place where woodland had been cleared to develop a settlement.

The year 968 saw the discovery of silver deposits near the town of Goslar, and mines became established in the following centuries throughout the mountains. During the Middle Ages, ore from this region was exported along trade routes to far-flung places, such as Mesopotamia. The wealth of the region declined after these mines became exhausted in the early 19th century.

Economy

The mining industry in the Harz has its origins about 3,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. The seven Upper Harz mining towns – Clausthal, Zellerfeld, Bad Grund, Sankt Andreasberg, Lautenthal, Altenau and Wildemann – and around 30 other villages within and on the edge of the Harz can thank the Upper Harz mining and smelting industries for their boom. The former imperial town of Goslar, too, whose splendour depended on the ore treasures of the Rammelsberg, mined argentiferous lead ore for centuries. Mining heavily dominated the economic life of the Harz as well as its scenery.

Geography

The Ore Mountains are one of the most geologically researched mountain ranges in the world. The Ore Mountains are a Hercynian block tilted so as to present a steep scarp face towards Bohemia and a gentle slope on the German side. They were formed during a lengthy process.

During the folding of the Variscan orogeny, metamorphism occurred deep underground, forming slate and gneiss. In addition, granite plutons intruded into the metamorphic rocks. By the end of the Palaeozoic era, the mountains had been eroded into gently undulating hills (the Permian massif), exposing the hard rocks.

In the Tertiary these mountain remnants came under heavy pressure as a result of plate tectonic processes during which the Alps were formed and the North American and Eurasian plates were separated.

History

The term Saltusbohemicus ("Bohemian Forest") for the region emerged in the 12th century. In the German language the equivalent names Böhmischer Wald, Beheimer Wald, Behmerwald or Böhmerwald were used, in Czech the name Český les. The last-mentioned names are used today for the mountain range along the Czech Republic's southwestern border.

From earlier research, other names for the Ore Mountains have also appeared in a few older written records. However, the names Hircanus Saltus (Hercynian Forest) or Fergunna, which appeared in the 9th century, were only used in a general sense for the vast forests of the Central Uplands.

Economy

The German part of the Ore Mountains is one of the major business locations in Saxony. The region has a high density of industrial operations. Since 2000, the number of industrial workers has risen against the Germany-wide trend by about 20 percent. Typical of the Ore Mountains are mainly small, often owner-managed, businesses.

The economic strengths of the Ore Mountains are mainly in manufacturing. 63 percent of the industrial workforce is employed in the metalworking and electrical industry.

Only of minor importance is the formerly dominant textile and clothing industry (5 percent of industrial net product) and the food industry.

Tourism

When several Ore Mountain passes were upgraded into chaussees in the 19th century, and the Upper Ore Mountains were accessed by the railway, tourism began to develop. One of the early promoters of tourism in the Ore Mountains was Otto Delitsch. In 1907, a memorial was erected to him in Wildenthal. In many places mountain inns and observation towers were erected on the highest peaks. At that time, skiers used the ridges with their guaranteed snow. Today, steam-worked narrow gauge railways dating to that era, such as the Pressnitz Valley Railway, are popular tourist attractions.

In 1924 the Fichtelberg Cable Car became the first cable car in Germany, and it still takes visitors to the highest mountain in Saxony.