Vorbergzone (Upper Rhine Graben)

Upper Rhine plain and foothills of the southern Black Forest . View from Staufen Castle towards Schönberg (right in the background)

The hilly landscape in front of the foothills of the Upper Rhine Plain , especially in front of the Black Forest , Vosges and Palatinate Forest , is referred to as the foothill zone . The foothills there are marginal clods that got stuck on the flanks of the mountains when the rift valley sank . Layers of the overburden are preserved on them, most of which have already been eroded on the neighboring higher clods . They are often covered with a layer of loess and offer good conditions for agricultural cultivation. In Baden , Alsace and the Palatinate, for example, intensive fruit and wine growing is practiced in the foothills .

Web links

• Geology of the Upper Rhine lowlands with foothills and Kaiserstuhl ( Memento from March 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.8 MB) - State Institute for the Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg