Erlenkopf (Middle Palatinate Forest)

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Alder head
View from Weißenberg over the Middle Palatinate Forest to the east: high plateau of Taubensuhl with alder head cf. Image background on the left

View from Weißenberg over the Middle Palatinate Forest to the east: high plateau of Taubensuhl with alder head cf. Image background on the left

height 552.9  m above sea level NHN
location Rhineland-Palatinate
Mountains Palatinate Forest
Dominance 2 km →  Hahnenkopf ( 554  m above sea  level )
Notch height 82 m ↓  Freßwasen ( 471  m above sea level )
Coordinates 49 ° 17 ′ 33 "  N , 7 ° 56 ′ 20"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 17 ′ 33 "  N , 7 ° 56 ′ 20"  E
Erlenkopf (Middle Palatinate Forest) (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Erlenkopf (Middle Palatinate Forest)
Type Kegelückenberg
rock Buntsandstein rock unit : Middle Buntsandstein - Karlstalschichten
Age of the rock 251–243 million years
particularities Part of the largest, uncut forest area in Germany

The Erlenkopf is a 552.9 meter high mountain in the central Palatinate Forest near the forester's house Taubensuhl ( Landauer Stadtwald ). As part of the Palatinate Forest-Vosges du Nord biosphere reserve, it is subject to special protection regulations.

geography

Geographical location

The Erlenkopf is part of a long ridge that stretches through the center of the Middle Palatinate Forest from Steigerkopf in the east over the Taubensuhl high plateau to Eschkopf in the northwest. While the north-eastern part of the Erlenkopf protrudes into the district of Südliche Weinstrasse , a large part of its area is in the Landau city forest; this forms an exclave to the north-west of the rest of the city of Landau, about 15 kilometers as the crow flies from the city center. Apart from the Landauer Forsthaus or the Forsthaus Taubensuhl , which is about 2 kilometers west of the mountain, the closer and further surroundings of the Alder Head are occupied by extensive, dense forests that are not inhabited. The closest permanent settlement is the municipality of Eusserthal , about 6 kilometers south ; Even further to the south is the spa town of Annweiler , located in the Queich valley, at a distance of about 10 kilometers .

Dominance and notch height

Due to the morphological structure of the central Palatinate Forest (see section " Geographical location "), the dominance and notch height or prominence of the alder head show only relatively low values. Its height of 553 m above sea level. NHN corresponds roughly to the average height of the Middle Palatinate Forest, so that the Hahnenkopf at 554 m above sea level. NHN as the closest higher peak is only two kilometers away as the crow flies (dominance of the Alder Head).
If you draw a connecting line from the Erlenkopf at the greatest possible height (mountain ridge) to the next higher summit, this is again the Hahnenkopf. The lowest point on this line is the "Scharte" with the Freßwasen, a mountain saddle at 471 m above sea level. NHN. The difference between the height of the alder head and that of the Freßwasens is 82 meters (= notch height or prominence of the mountain); This relatively low value and thus the low conciseness of the alder head is explained by the morphological conditions in the Middle Palatinate Forest described above.

Waters

Due to incline precipitation, the Erlenkopf receives above-average amounts of precipitation of more than 1100 mm annual precipitation (Forsthaus Taubensuhl 1125 mm) and is therefore the headwaters of a number of smaller and larger rivers . The ridge reaching from the Steigerkopf to the Eschkopf forms a watershed between Speyerbach in the north and Queich in the south, both of which flow off in an easterly direction towards the Rhine plain .

The Eusserbach south of Eusserthal

The Dörenbach rises directly below the Erlenkopf; it flows south and has dug itself deep into the red sandstone package in a notch valley . After about 6 kilometers it flows into the Eußerbach near Eußerthal , which after another 5 kilometers flows into the Queich as the Eisbach near Albersweiler . To the north of the Erlenkopf is the also deeply incised Kerbtal of the Grobsbach , which reaches the Helmbach as the Stilles Tal after about 5 kilometers at the Hornesselwiese . This then joins the Speyerbach after a further 5 kilometers east of Elmstein .

geology

Emergence

The alder head is formed by rocks of the Buntsandstein , which were deposited at the beginning of the Triassic (251–243 million years) under predominantly desert conditions. In the Paleogene (65–23.8 million years ago), these rock layers underwent tectonically induced rearrangements during the formation of the Upper Rhine Rift, which among other things led to the rock arching, shifting and tilting. Subsequently (23.8–0.01 million years) this sandstone package was used to model the present-day surface form of the Palatinate Forest and thus also the ridge of the Alder Head through weathering and erosion processes.

Structure (stratigraphy)

The alder head is built up primarily from the rock layers of the lower and middle red sandstone. Since these are inclined (see section Origin ) and sink from east to west, the layers of the Lower Buntsandstein are to be found at a lower height at the Erlenkopf than is the case further east, for example in the Haardt . Here dominate up to heights of about 450 m above sea level. NHN formations of the Rehberg and Schlossberg layers create the relief , in which small-scale rock zones alternate with thin clay layers, the latter often acting as a source horizon .
These formations are in the summit area of ​​the Erlenkopf from about a height of 450 m above sea level. NHN covered by rocks of the Middle Buntsandstein especially the Karlstalschichten . Characteristic are gray to light red medium and coarse sandstones, which have a special strength due to silicification and often come to the surface as hard boulders.

Surface shape (geomorphology and topography)

View from Rehberg to the north: in the middle distance Großer Adelberg, in the background the Taubensuhl high plateau with alder head

The surface shape of the alder head is formed by high-surface structures of the Rehberg and Schlossberg layers , on which a conical summit consisting of the Karlstal layers is placed about 100 meters high with steep slopes. This summit has an oval base with a diameter of about one kilometer. Based on Geiger's “typology of mountain and rock forms in the Wasgau”, the alder head could therefore best be assigned to the “cone back mountain” category.

climate

temperature

Like the rest of the Palatinate Forest, the Erlenkopf is mainly shaped by Atlantic influences with moderately warm and humid air masses . According to the Rhineland-Palatinate climatic atlas , its mean annual temperature is around 7 to 8 degrees Celsius, while in comparison the Haardtrand and Rhine plains - additionally favored by the effects of the wind - can expect a significantly higher annual mean temperature of 9 to 10 degrees Celsius.

Precipitation

Moist air masses, which mainly flow in from the west, are forced to rise in the Taubensuhl and Erlenkopf area, so that there is increased cloud formation and above-average precipitation ( windward-wind effects ). The data from the measuring point at Forsthaus Taubensuhl, just 2 kilometers to the west, where an average annual precipitation of 1125 mm was measured, is particularly meaningful. The values ​​further north-west ( Leimen 1071 mm) or north-located stations ( Johanniskreuz 1005 mm) also tend to point in the same direction.

wind

The wind conditions in the Erlenkopf area also reflect this Atlantic character: There are weak to moderate air movements, with the average annual wind strength at 100 meters above ground according to the Rhineland-Palatinate wind atlas being 5.0 to 5.5 m / s and wind directions from the west and Southwest predominate with a frequency of about 25 percent each.

Bioclimatic aspects

From a bioclimatic point of view , the climate of the region around Erlenkopf and Taubensuhl in lower and middle elevations can be classified as a mildly stimulating climate with balanced temperatures, moderate humidity and high air purity. This type of climate has positive effects on respiratory diseases , rheumatic complaints and allergies , among other things . At higher altitudes, on the other hand, the organism is exposed to stronger stimuli, so that one can speak of a moderately stimulating climate here. Not only are the health disorders mentioned above positively influenced , but also cardiovascular diseases and depression .

See also

Portal: Palatinate Forest  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of Palatinate Forest

literature

  • Michael Geiger et al. (Hrsg.): The Palatinate Forest, portrait of a landscape . Publishing house Palatinate cultural studies, Landau / Pf. 1987, ISBN 3-9801147-1-6 .
  • Michael Geiger et al. (Ed.): Geography of the Palatinate . Publishing house Palatinate cultural studies, Landau / Pf. 2010, ISBN 978-3-9812974-0-9 .
  • Karl Heinz: Pfalz: with Weinstrasse; Landscape, history, culture, art, folklore. Glock and Lutz Verlag, Heroldsberg 1976, ISBN 3-8235-1056-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f State Office for Surveying and Geo-Base Information Rhineland-Palatinate (Ed.): Topographic maps 1: 25,000 with hiking trails, Hauenstein and the surrounding area; Annweiler; Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Maikammer, Edenkoben, Landau in the Palatinate . Self-published by the State Office for Surveying and Geographic Base Information Rhineland-Palatinate, Koblenz 1999 and 2006
  2. ↑ A mountain of the same name is located in the western part of the Wasgau about 2 kilometers as the crow flies southeast of Eppenbrunn
  3. ↑ German Weather Service : Precipitation: Long-term mean values ​​1971–2000 ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved September 25, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dwd.de
  4. ↑ Jost Haneke / Michael Weidenfeller: The geological building units of the Palatinate . In: Michael Geiger et al. (Hrsg.): Geographie der Pfalz. Publishing house Palatinate cultural studies, Landau / Pf. 2010, pp. 74-91
  5. ↑ a b State Office for Geology and Mining Rhineland-Palatinate: Geological overview map of Rhineland-Palatinate . Retrieved September 26, 2013
  6. ↑ Due to their inclination, younger rock layers were increasingly removed in the eastern and central Palatinate Forest; so the summit area of ​​the Erlenkopf consists of rocks from the middle and not from the upper red sandstone. The last-mentioned series of rocks, on the other hand, only forms the relief of the low mountain range in the western part of the Middle Palatinate Forest, for example in Holzland .
  7. ↑ Michael Geiger: The Palatinate Forest in a geographical overview. In: Michael Geiger (Ed.): The Palatinate Forest, a portrait of a landscape. Verlag Pfälzische Landeskunde, Landau / Pfalz 1987, p. 40
  8. ^ A b German Weather Service (ed.): Climate Atlas of Rhineland-Palatinate . Self-published by the German Weather Service, Bad Kissingen 1957, sheet 11
  9. ↑ a b Deutscher Wetterdienst (Ed.): Measured values ​​for the period 1961-1990 ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved October 15, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dwd.de
  10. ↑ Ministry of Economics, Climate Protection, Energy and State Planning (ed.): Windatlas Rhineland-Palatinate . Retrieved October 15, 2013
  11. ^ German Weather Service (ed.): Climate Atlas of Rhineland-Palatinate . Verlag Deutscher Wetterdienst, Bad Kissingen 1957, pages 3–5.
  12. ↑ Michael Geiger, Manfred Kurz: Weather and Climate in the Palatinate . In: Michael Geiger et al. (Hrsg.): Geographie der Pfalz . Verlag Pfälzische Landeskunde, Landau / Pfalz 2010, pp. 128–145
  13. ↑ Michael Geiger, Manfred Kurz: Weather and Climate in the Palatinate . In: Michael Geiger et al. (Ed.): Geographie der Pfalz *. Verlag Pfälzische Landeskunde, Landau / Pfalz 2010, p. 143