Southwestern Harz foreland
The southwestern Harz foreland is a basin and hilly landscape composed of various landscape forms in southern Lower Saxony in the districts of Northeim and Goslar and in the old district of Osterode am Harz .
It lies between the Harz Mountains in the east, the Eichsfeld in the south and the Leine in the west and, according to the handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany, belongs to the Lower Saxony mountainous region .
Geographical location
The southwestern Harz foreland extends from the Harz border near Osterode in the east and Osterhagen in the southeast, the Lower Saxony - Thuringian border in the extreme southeast, the Oder valley in the southwest, Einbeck in the northwest and Bad Gandersheim in the north. The line divides the Hube ridge from the rest of the Harz foreland between Einbeck and Erzhausen .
Natural classification
The south-western Harz foreland represents the main unit 376 within the natural spatial main unit group Weser-Leine-Bergland .
The southwestern Harz foreland as part of the Lower Saxony mountainous region is structured as follows:
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(to 37 Weser-Leine-Bergland )
- 376 Southwestern Harz foreland
- 376.0 Rittegau
- 376.00 Red sandstone mountains from Salzderhelden
- 376.01 stroke
- 376.02 Kahlefeld loess valley
- 376.03 Greener Leineaue
- 376.04 Kreiensen-Northeimer Kalkberge
- 376.05 Gandersheim basin
- 376.06 Oldenrode and Willershausen basins
- 376.1 Westerhöfer Bergland
- 376.2 Osterode-Herzberger Vorland ( southwestern Harz foreland in the narrower sense )
- 376.0 Rittegau
- 376 Southwestern Harz foreland
Adjacent natural spaces and landscapes of the southwestern Harz foreland are viewed clockwise:
- Upper Harz in the east
- the southern Harz Zechstein belt in the southeast merges into the zechstein areas of the southwestern Harz foreland without any sharp borders
- Eichsfeld Basin with the Rotenberg in the south and the lower Rhumetal in the southwest
- Leinegraben in the west
- Alfelder Bergland with Hils and Selter in the northwest
- Innerstebergland with the jack in the north
Geology and nature
The southwestern Harz foreland in the broader sense is made up of various sub-landscapes with different geological bases.
Rittegau
The Rittegau forms the western part of the landscape and is included in the Leinebergland . It is located northeast of the Ilme basin between Northeim in the south, Einbeck in the northwest and Seesen in the northeast and consists of different types of rock ( shell limestone , red sandstone , Jura ). The most important partial landscape is the ridge of the Hube , which is already west of the Leine . The steeper mountain ranges and mountain areas are predominantly forested, while the basins and valleys are used for agriculture.
Westerhöfer Bergland
The plaice of the Westerhöfer Bergland, consisting mainly of red sandstone, is to be regarded as the northern continuation of the Göttingen-Northeimer Forest . It extends from the lower Rhumetal near Northeim in the southwest to the western edge of the Harz near Seesen in the northeast. The mountain areas are wooded (mixed forest), arable farming is practiced in the valleys and flatter slopes.
Osterode-Herzberger Vorland
The southwestern Harz foreland in the narrower sense is a layered landscape formed by numerous rivers coming from the Harz, which consists of red sandstone, limestone and Zechstein . Situated at the edge of the Harz immediate Zechsteingebiete have as the eastern Zechsteingebiete the southern Harz diverse karst features on how sinkholes, caves ( Lichtenstein Cave , Unicorn Cave ) and dry valleys. A geological peculiarity in the area of the Eichsfeld-Schwelle are rock formations of former reefs (Westerstein). The valleys of the Harz rivers, which are up to several kilometers wide, consist of gravel from the Harz Mountains. The landscape is mainly used for agriculture, in addition to a few smaller forest areas there are also open karst areas with steppe heaths and dry slopes. Numerous small nature reserves serve to preserve a diverse flora and fauna.
mountains
In the highly indented hilly landscape the most important mountains are:
-
Rittegau
- Kahlberg (371 m), north of Dögerode
- Fuchshöhlenberg (346.2 m), north of Einbeck (Hube)
- Vogelberg (335.7 m), northeast of Wiershausen
- Westerberg (320.6 m), west of Kalefeld
- Krieberg (299 m), east of Vogelbeck
- Wadenberg (249.9 m), north of Kreiensen
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Westerhöfer Bergland
- Fahrberg (402 m), northwest of Gittelde
- Dünenberg (358 m), east of Denkershausen
- Rolandskopf (321 m), west of Willensen
- Rehkopfberg (316 m), southwest of Gittelde
- Bornberg (300.5 m), west of Förste
-
Osterode-Herzberger Vorland
- Butterberg (379 m), south of Bad Lauterberg
- Westerstein (365 m), west of Bartolfelde
- Krücker (340 m), east of Schwiegerhausen
- Rosenberg (313 m), south of Osterode
- Hagenberg (296 m), north of Wulften
- Cool (293 m), south of Schwarzfeld
- Ochsenberg (281 m), west of Herzberg
Waters
The southwestern Harz foreland is mainly drained from east to west. The larger Harz rivers Oder , Sieber and Söse with their wide gravel corridors shape the southern and eastern part of the landscape and flow into Katlenburg-Lindau in the Rhume and at Northeim in the Leine. This touches the northwestern edge of the Harz foreland to Einbeck and then separates the range of hills from the Hube. Numerous smaller bodies of water (including Hakenbach, Dorster Mühlenbach, Aue, Wambach, Eterna) arise in the interior of the Harz foreland and created a varied landscape with their valleys.
In the area of the southern Harz karst areas and the gravel fields, there is heavy seepage of the Harz rivers Oder and Sieber. It reappears in karst springs in the red sandstone areas adjacent to the south via large underground water reservoirs , the largest of which is the Rhume spring .
climate
The southwestern Harz foreland is still in the subatlantic climatic area, with the transition to the subcontinental in the extreme southeast. The annual mean temperature is between 7.5 ° C (Bad Lauterberg) and 8.8 ° C ( Einbeck ) , depending on the altitude . Due to the location on the windward side of the Harz, there is heavy rainfall that exceeds 800–900 mm annual precipitation on the immediate edge of the Harz, even in the valleys.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ E. Meynen and J. Schmithüsen : Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Remagen / Bad Godesberg 1953-1962 (9 deliveries in 8 books, updated map 1: 1,000,000 with main units 1960)
- ↑ a b Jürgen Hövermann 1963: Geographical land survey: The natural space units in single sheets 1: 200,000 - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1952-1991 → Online maps
- ↑ Jürgen Spönemann 1970: Geographical land survey: The natural space units in single sheets 1: 200,000 - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1952-1991
- ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )