Dümmer-Geest lowland
| Dümmer-Geest lowland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics according to | Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany | ||
| Greater region 1st order | North German Lowlands | ||
| Greater region 2nd order | Central North German Lowland | ||
| Greater region 3rd order | North German Geest | ||
| Main unit group | 58 → Dümmer-Geestniederung |
||
| Natural space |
58 → Dümmer-Geestniederung |
||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 52 ° 30 ′ 40 " N , 8 ° 18 ′ 55" E | ||
|
|||
| state | Lower Saxony | ||
| Country | Germany | ||
The Dümmer-Geestniederung is a third-order natural spatial unit in northwest Germany , which extends largely over southwestern Lower Saxony and to a small extent over the adjacent northern North Rhine-Westphalia . Its peculiarity consists in the varied juxtaposition of different landscape elements of the North German lowlands , part of which is the Dümmer-Geest lowland .
Definition
In the course of the scientific division of Germany into natural spatial units in the 1950s, the area presented was recognized as a uniform natural area in several respects . It was classified as a natural spatial unit of the third order or also a main unit group , with the name Dümmer-Geestniederung and given the number 58 within the framework of the whole of Germany . The area was subdivided into natural spatial main units and these in turn further into units of a lower order.
The name is still popular today.
Territory and boundaries
The area of the Dümmer-Geest lowlands is roughly outlined with the following imaginary line: Dutch border at Meppen - Vechta - Sulingen - Hoya - Nienburg / Weser - Minden - Mittellandkanal to Rheine - Dutch border at Nordhorn .
The districts of Grafschaft Bentheim , Emsland , Osnabrück , Vechta , Diepholz and Nienburg in Lower Saxony and the districts of Minden-Lübbecke and Steinfurt in North Rhine-Westphalia have a share in the natural area.
Adjacent natural spatial units of the third order are the Westphalian Bight in the southwest, the Ems-Hunte-Geest in the north, the Weser-Aller lowland in the east and the lower Weser Uplands in the south.
Natural features
The Dümmer-Geestniederung is a largely flat lowland sloping to the north and west and from an average of 60 m to about 20 m above sea level. NHN falls. Valley sand areas, moors and small ground moraine plates alternate, interrupted by several elevations of terminal moraines , which in the Dammer Mountains and the Ankumer Höhe reach over 140 m in height. The Stemmer Mountains ( 181 m ) form an isolated foothill of the low mountain range .
The diversity of the landscape elements is the main distinguishing feature from the adjacent Ems-Hunte-Geest to the north, which consists of large, closed geest panels . The western ( Dutch ) and eastern neighboring areas, on the other hand, have a similar structure, while in the south the beginning low mountain range clearly stands out.
The Weser with its tributaries Große Aue and Hunte , the Ems with the Hase and the Vechte can be found on the waterways . The floodplains are partly deepened up to 15 m, on the Weser up to 30 m. The eponymous Dümmer is located in a moor area.
The predominant soils are sand and peatland types . Loamy components occur in the floodplains and on the ridges, here there is also floating sand of greater fertility.
According to the diversity of the area, different plant communities were originally found: those of the high and low moors , oak-birch forests on loam and floating sand, oak-hornbeam forests in the Stemmer mountains and in the floodplain alder forests .
Human use
As late as 1850, heaths and moors covered most of the area. Today the heaths have mostly been converted into cultivated land or reforested with pine trees . By draining bogs were drained and used as pasture fed, also reduces the floods earlier regularly occurring. The original natural landscape is only visible in a few places. The Dümmer-Geest lowland is used for agriculture, especially with regard to maize, but there are some areas overgrown with grassland.
Breakdown
The Dümmer-Moorgeest as a natural spatial unit of the third order is further subdivided into natural spatial units of the fourth order (natural spatial main units):
- 580 Nordhorn-Bentheimer sand lowland
- 581 Plantlünner sand plain
- 582 Rahden-Diepenauer Geest
- 583 Middle Weser Valley
- 584 Diepholzer Moorniederung
- 585 Bersenbrücker Land
- 586 Lingener Land
The numbers refer to the scientific system.
literature
- Emil Meynen (Hrsg.): Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany. Self-published by the Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Remagen 1959–1962 (Part 2, contains delivery 6–9).