Southern Black Forest

The Belchen in the southern Black Forest, rising a good 1000 meters from the Münstertal

View from Schauinsland ( 1284 m ) to St. Wilhelmer Tal and Feldberg ( 1493 m )

View over the Upper Münstertal to Belchen ( 1414 m , left) and Blauen ( 1165 m )

Präger Kessel near Todtnau in the upper Wiesental

The Schluchsee in the less steep eastern part of the southern Black Forest

The southern Black Forest is the name given to the highest part of the Black Forest with strong overforming by Ice Age glaciers south of an approximate line between Freiburg im Breisgau - Donaueschingen . The term Hochschwarzwald is not completely congruent with this; it usually also includes the highest part of the Middle Black Forest southeast of the Elz Valley .

Characteristic

Unlike the northern Black Forest, which is characterized by almost parallel mountain ridges and plateaus, and the intensely divided Central Black Forest, the southern Black Forest is dominated by a central high area, from which most of the large valleys emanate. The dominant peaks of the central high area are the Feldberg ( 1493 m ) and the Herzogenhorn ( 1415.6 m ). The Rhine plain is dominated by the Belchen ( 1414.2 m ), the Schauinsland ( 1283.9 m ) and the Blauen ( 1165.4 m ). Other striking peaks are the Blößling ( 1309.5 m ) and the Hochkopf ( 1263.5 m ) in the south , and the Hochfirst ( 1196.9 m ) in the east . Starting from the Feldberg area, the meadow flows in a south-westerly direction, the Alb southwards, Schwarza / Schlücht following the south-east canopy, the Wutach , still called Seebach and Gutach , initially to the east and the source rivers of the Dreisam steeply down to the northwestern "Black Forest capital" Freiburg im Breisgau.

To the west of a line from Höllental - Wehraschlucht there is a lively, steep relief with height differences between 400 and 1000 meters, to the east of this there are undulating high areas with wide valleys and height differences between 150 and 400 meters.

From Bonndorf in the Black Forest , the Steina valley forms the transition to the Klettgau . The Hotzenwald is part of the southern Black Forest between the places Wehr , St. Blasien and Waldshut , Bad Säckingen and Laufenburg . At Lörrach and Schopfheim , the Dinkelberg connects to the southern Black Forest. At Stühlingen and Blumberg , the Wutach Valley forms the natural dividing line from the Randen .

On rocks prevail gneisses ago with some granite - intrusions . Porphyry dike rocks occasionally emerge through rock formations. In contrast to the northern Black Forest, the red sandstone ceiling with its plateau-like mountain shapes is only thin and has little relief.

The proportion of forest in the vegetation is lower in the southern Black Forest compared to the central and especially the northern Black Forest.

Protected areas

Some of the largest nature reserves in Baden-Württemberg and the European bird sanctuary in the southern Black Forest are located in the southern Black Forest . Since February 2016, an approx. 63,000 hectare contiguous area of the southern Black Forest has been designated as a Black Forest biosphere area and has been recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO since June 2017 . The Southern Black Forest Nature Park also includes parts of the Upper Black Forest that extend beyond the Southern Black Forest and some peripheral areas.