Waltershauser foothills
| Waltershauser foothills | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| surface | 93 km² | ||
| Systematics according to | Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany | ||
| Greater region 1st order | Low mountain range threshold | ||
| Main unit group | 47/48 → Thuringian Basin (with edge plates) |
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| Natural space |
480 → Waltershausen foothills |
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| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 50 ° 52 '49 " N , 10 ° 32' 36" E | ||
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| circle | District of Gotha , Wartburg District , Eisenach | ||
| state | Thuringia | ||
| Country | Germany | ||
The Waltershausen foothills are a wooded mountainous area in the districts of Gotha , Wartburg and, with a small proportion, in the city of Eisenach in western Thuringia ( Germany ).
The landscape stands out from the neighboring landscapes due to the red sandstone .
Geographical location
The landscape running in a north-west-south-east direction is about 25 kilometers long and a maximum of 5 kilometers wide and borders directly on the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest . The Waltershausen foothills are located between Eisenach in the north-west, the eponymous town of Waltershausen in the north, Georgenthal in the south-east and Tabarz and Friedrichroda in the south.
Natural classification
The Waltershausen foothills, which occupy a total area of around 93 km², represent the main unit 480 within the natural spatial main unit group Thuringian Basin (with edge plates) .
Adjacent natural areas are:
- Thuringian Forest in the south
- West Thuringian mountain and hill country in the north (with the Hörselberge )
According to the purely inner- Thuringian division The natural spaces of Thuringia of the Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology in Jena (TLUG), the unit of the same name 2.3 Waltershausen foothills is given as 88 km².
According to the classification of the BfN , in the corresponding landscape profile Walterhauser Vorberge with Hörselberge, the Hörselberge adjacent to the north-west are added and given an area of 107 km².
Geology and nature
The geological subsoil consists of lower and middle red sandstone . Coniferous forests with individual beech and oak forests dominate the predominantly wooded landscape. The flatter slopes and valleys are also used for agriculture. On the northern edge of the Waltershausen foothills, a sequence of layers of shell limestone emerges ( Burgberg : 434.3 m south of Waltershausen) and on the southern edge a strip with Zechstein (Spitziger Berg: 455.5 m west of Thal). The rivers emerging from the Thuringian Forest to the Hörsel with a steep incline have caused a pronounced breakdown and structure of the original red sandstone slab. With its surface form and the forest cover, the landscape is already more similar to the Thuringian Forest.
At the transition from the foothills to this, about 15 km southwest of Gotha , is the famous Marienglashöhle with its large, glass-like translucent gypsum crystals ( Marienglas ). The 70 ° steep layers of red sandstone and Zechstein exposed by underground mining were created during the Thuringian mountain formation due to inclined fracture tectonics in the transition area between Triassic (red sandstone) and Zechstein .
It should be mentioned that the deceptive bastard whitebeam is an endemic species on Waltershausen Castle Hill .
mountains
The most important mountains of the Waltershausen foothills are from west to east:
- Kohlberg (408.5 m), north of Mosbach
- Reitzenberg (481.8 m), north of Schmerbach
- Kambühl (453.6 m), south of Kälberfeld
- Grübelsberg (408.5 m), northeast of Schwarzhausen
- Finstere Tanne (519.9 m), east of Tabarz
- Reinhardsberg (468.7 m), north of Friedrichroda
- Ziegelberg (518.8 m), north of Catterfeld
Waters
The Waltershausen foothills are the source area of numerous small tributaries to the rivers emerging from the Thuringian Forest:
There are numerous small ponds between Tabarz and Friedrichroda that are used for fish farming.
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)
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^ Walter Hiekel, Frank Fritzlar, Andreas Nöllert and Werner Westhus: The natural spaces of Thuringia . Ed .: Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology (TLUG), Thuringian Ministry for Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Environment . 2004, ISSN 0863-2448 . → Natural area map of Thuringia (TLUG) - PDF; 260 kB → Maps by district (TLUG)
- ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )