Witzenhausen-Altmorschen valley

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The Witzenhausen-Altmorschener Talung is a ramified series of valleys in northern Hesse , Germany . It consists of the central Hessisch-Lichtenau basin , the Spangenberger Senke in the south, the Waldkappeler Wehretal in the east as well as Rommeroder Hügelland and Velmeder Tal in the north and divides the mountain ranges of the natural spatial main unit Fulda-Werra-Bergland (357) into three segments, with the center of gravity Söhre 643.4  m above sea level. NHN and Günsteröder Höhe ( 563.7  m , west), Hoher Meißner ( 753.6  m , northeast) and Stölzinger Gebirge ( 583  m , southeast) meet directly at the Hessisch-Lichtenau basin.

geology

The trenches of the Witzenhausen-Altmorschener Talung lie on shell limestone , on larger areas with a Keuper above , between the red sandstone slabs of the mountain ranges that separate them from each other.

Natural structure

The Witzenhausen-Altmorschener Talung is structured as follows:

  • 357.5 Witzenhausen-Altmorschen valley
    • 357.50 Spangenberger Senke (19.73 km²)
    • 357.51 Hessisch-Lichtenau Basin (33.79 km²)
    • 357.52 Velmeder Tal (19.81 km²)
    • 357.53 Rommeroder Hügelland (19.17 km²)
    • 357.54 Waldkappeler Wehretal (24.75 km²)

Spangenberger Valley

The Spangenberger Senke stretches for a length of about 15 km from Hessisch Lichtenau ( Werra-Meißner district ) via Spangenberg southwest to the valley of the Fulda near Morschen - the latter places in the Schwalm-Eder district . It separates the Melsunger Bergland in the west from the Stölzinger Mountains in the east.

The north and middle of the depression, over which a section of the federal highway 487 runs, follow the Essebach from the Hessisch-Lichtenau basin to its confluence with the Pfieffe , which crosses the depression in Spangenberg coming from the east. In this section, the Essebach falls from around 360  m high near Hessisch Lichtenau to around 220  m high near Spangenberg. The Günsteröder Höhe rising to the west reaches a height of 563.7  m near the north of the depression with the Himmelsberg and 562.2  m with the Pentersrück , while the Vockeroder Bergland , opposite this ridge, comes up to 524  m in the vicinity of the depression on the Schlossberg .

In the southern section, beyond the Pfieffe, the mountain ranges Wildsberg ( 466.9  m , in the west) and Katzenstirn ( 500.7  m , in the east) face each other. The depression rises again on the watershed between Pfieffe and Fulda to around 330  m , in order to follow the Eubach until shortly before its confluence with the Fulda in the Bebra-Melsunger Fulda valley adjoining to the south at less than 180  m .

Hessian-Lichtenau basin

The Hessisch-Lichtenau basin is the central basin of the entire Fulda-Werra mountainous region and the Witzenhausen-Altmorschen valley in particular. It is located in the west of the Werra-Meißner district around the eponymous place Hessisch Lichtenau at heights of 330 to 420  m , which are not low for basin landscapes , but is dominated by the surrounding mountain ranges by 200 to over 400  m .

The basin is divided in two by the watershed between Fulda and Werra in a south-north direction. While Hessisch-Lichtenau, located to the west of the center, and the northwestern district of Fürstenhagen are located on the Losse , a tributary of the Fulda, which flows through the natural area from southeast to northwest , the weirs that pass the basin from north to south flow through the Walburg district to the east which flows to the southeast of the Werra via the Waldkappeler Wehretal .

The following natural areas surround the Hessisch-Lichtenau Basin (clockwise, starting in the northwest) - with an altitude in meters (m) above sea level:

Velmed valley

The Velmed Valley branches off in the Werra-Meißner district of the Hessisch-Lichtenau basin in north-northeastern directions and stretches for about 11 km along the state road 3238 and the federal road 451 , until shortly after Hundelshausen , a southern district of Witzenhausen . From the basin mentioned, it first follows upstream the Velmede , a short tributary of the weirs , to Velmeden , then from Laudenbach to follow the tributary of the same name, the Gelster, and finally the Gelster itself, not far from its confluence with the Werra .

The valley separates the Söhre (up to 643.4  m ) covered by the Rommeroder hill country to the east and, further north, the Vorderen Kaufunger Wald (without Söhre; up to 641.2  m ) in the west from the Hoher Meißner ( 753.6  m ) and its northern n foothills n to the east. The bottom of the valley between Velmeden and Laudenbach reaches almost 390  m and in the north near Hundelshausen around 200  m .

Rommeroder hill country

The Rommeroder hill country represents the eastern roofing of the 643.4  m high Söhre at the Hirschberg to the Velmeder valley . It is located in the Werra-Meißner district almost entirely in the municipality of Großalmerode and is named after the district of Rommerode .

To the north the hill country flattens to the valley of the Gelster , behind which the Vordere Kaufunger Wald (up to 641.2  m ) rises, to the east to the Velmeder valley , behind which the Hohe Meißner reaches 753.6  m and to the south to the Hessisch-Lichtenau basin .

In the Rommeroder hill country, the two Exberg lakes are the source lakes of the weirs that initially flow south .

The mountains and elevations of the landscape include - with heights in meters (m) above sea ​​level (NHN):

  • Hohekopf (539.4 m), east of Epterode
  • Rösberg (528.0 m), southwest of Rommerode
  • Gutsberg (517.0 m), south-southeast of Rommerode
  • Exberg (505.5 m), east-northeast of Rommerode
  • Eisenberg (485.4 m), southeast of Friedrichsbrück
  • Passberg (468.9 m), southwest of Rommerode

Waldkappeler Wehretal

The Waldkappeler Wehretal , located in the Werra-Meißner district , follows the valley of the weirs and the federal road 7 from the Hessisch-Lichtenau Basin for about 15 km east-southeast until the weir winds north just before the village of Wehretal -Reichensachsen. It separates the Hohe Meißner ( 753.6  m ) and the Finkenberg-Dachsberg-Zug, which adjoins it to the south-southeast, on the north (east) flank of the Stölzinger Mountains (up to 583  m ) and Hosbach-Sontra-Bergland on the south (west) side . To the east it meets the Schlierbachswald , and parts of the Lower Werraland (main unit 358) connect directly to the north of this seam .

While the river basin sinks from around 330  m to 180  m , the accompanying mountain ranges also flatten from 753.6  m to 398  m ( Dachsberg ), in the Hosbach-Sontra-Bergland a little lower on the eastern south side, while in the adjoining to the east Schlierbachswald the heights rise again a little.

Flowing waters

The valleys of the following rivers are involved in the Witzenhausen-Altmorschener Talung:
(sorted upwards of the Fulda and Werra, i.e. from north to south; in brackets the inflow side, length, catchment area and outflow)

  • ( Fulda - right tributaries)
    • Losse (28.9 km, 120.576 km², 1,418 l / s) - rises in the north-west of the Stölzinger Mountains and flows through the Hessisch-Lichtenau basin from south-east to north-west
      • Börnchenbach (left, 2.5 km, 6.0 km², 74 / s) - flows into the Hessisch-Lichtenau Basin from the northern flank of the Günsteröder Höhe and flows into the basin
    • Pfieffe (21.5 km, 117.082 km², 1,235 l / s) - crosses the Spangenberg depression coming from the east
      • Essebach (right, 11.6 km, 28.574 km², 343 l / s) - forms the north and center of the Spangenberg depression
    • Eubach (4.2 km, 10.973 km², 89 l / s) - forms the south of the Spangenberg depression
  • ( Werra - left tributaries)
    • Gelster (17.5 km, 60.642 km², 771 l / s) - northern Velmed valley
      • Laudenbach (right, 5.4 km, 15.989 km², 262 l / s) - middle Velmed valley
    • Weirs (36.4 km, 451.703 km², 4,147 l / s) - rises south-east of the Hirschberg belonging to the Söhre in the Rommeroder hill country (source lakes: Exbergseen );
      passes the Hessisch-Lichtauer basin to the south;
      flows in east-south-east directions through the Waldkappeler Wehretal
      • Velmede (left, 4.1 km, 6.1 km², 88 l / s) - rises in the east of the Rommeroder hill country ;
        forms the extreme south of the Velmed Valley and flows into the Hessisch-Lichtenau basin

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Geological overview map of Hesse". Historical atlas of Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  2. ^ Map and description in the Environmental Atlas of Hesse
  3. Water map service of the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection ( information )

General sources