Werra-Gäuplatten

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Werra-Gäuplatten
Landscapes of Thuringia with the Werra-Gäuplatten together with Langen Bergen and Mellrichstädter Gäu in the southwestern border area with Bavaria
Landscapes of Thuringia with the Werra-Gäuplatten together with Langen Bergen and Mellrichstädter Gäu in the southwestern border area with Bavaria
Systematics according to Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany
Main unit group 13 →
Main Franconian plates
About main unit 138 2
Werra-Gäuplatten
Natural space 138 2
Werra-Gäuplatten
state Thuringia , Bavaria
Country Germany

The Werra-Gäuplatten , also known as Werra-Gäuflächen and Meininger Kalkplatten (see below ), are a major natural area in southern Thuringia and northern Bavaria . They represent the northernmost landscape of the main unit group Mainfränkische Platten as well as the superordinate large landscape (Greater Region 2nd order) Southwest German step country .

As in all the landscapes referred to as Gäue , shell limestone is the first priority .

location

The Werra-Gäuplatten extend over an area of ​​about 700 km² on both sides of the Werra river from the region around the city of Meiningen ( district Schmalkalden-Meiningen , TH) in the north via Hildburghausen ( district Hildburghausen , TH) to the Long Mountains north of Coburg ( District of Coburg , Upper Franconia , BY) and to the southwest to the Mellrichstädter Gäu near Mellrichstadt and Ostheim vor der Rhön in the northern district of Rhön-Grabfeld ( Lower Franconia , BY). Its southern border to Keuper - hills grave field largely falls to the southern watershed of the Werra to Franconian Saale and Itz together on the even of the Small Gleichenberg is. However, the Mellrichstädter Gäu mainly drains to the litter and thus to the Franconian Saale.

Geography and geology

The Werra-Gäuplatten are a shell limestone area , the plateaus and slightly undulating mountains of which reach a height of between 460 and 520 m above sea level. The landscape is criss-crossed by numerous deeply cut valleys up to 180 m deep. The highest point is the solitary extinct volcano Dolmar with a height of 739.6 m above sea level on the northeastern edge of the natural area. The Gleichberg mountains (641 and 679 m) on the southern border tower above their surrounding area in a similarly singular manner, but are already included in the Grabfeld main unit.

A major natural monument is formed around 20,000 years ago touristically developed fractured and columns Cave Goetz cave .

Natural structure

In the manual of the natural division of Germany , the Werra-Gäuplatten were originally combined with the geologically different ( Keuper ) Grabfeld to form main unit 138. This was mainly due to the fact that the decadal system only allowed ten main units (three digits) per group (two digits).

In the work on the single sheets 1: 200,000 , however, this was again abandoned and with a subscript, the grave field became the main unit 138 1 , the Gäuplatten 138 2 .

No natural spatial subdivision took place, apart from small western edge parts on the Fulda sheet , north of the latitude 50 ° 30 '. This is due to the fact that, due to the construction of the Wall , after a few years of reflection, it was decided in the years up to 1968/9 to dispense with the creation of map sheets in the area of ​​the former GDR , especially sheet Gotha .

The following sub-natural areas are identified:

Classification according to TLUG

In the purely inner- Thuringian system The natural areas of Thuringia of the Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology (TLUG), the Werra-Gäuplatten - or their Thuringian part - are shown as Meininger Kalkplatten to almost unchanged limits . The only difference is the east of the Bibra southeastern part located the Bibraer saddle , which insofar as the Eastern Rhön foreland continues, as on it in no small proportions red sandstone is present. This was assigned to the Lengsfeld-Zillbach-Bauerbacher Buntsandstein-Waldland unit.

Adjacent natural areas

The Werra-Gäuplatten meet the main unit Salzunger Werrabergland (359) to the north, to the northeast and east to the southern foreland of the Thuringian Forest (390), to the south to the Grabfeld (138 1 ), to the southwest to the Südrhön (140) and to Northwest to the Kuppenrhön (353).

Settlement and land use

The largest city and only medium-sized town in the Werra-Gäuplatten natural area is Meiningen . Other cities are Hildburghausen , Mellrichstadt and Ostheim vor der Rhön as well as Themar, which is in the border area . The mountain tops are covered with deciduous and mixed forests, the southern slopes consist of dry forests and dry grass . The plateaus and flat slopes are arable and pasture land, the valley floors are grassland. Pronounced urban settlement areas with industry and commerce exist only in the two district towns of Meiningen and Hildburghausen and in the Lower Franconian town of Mellrichstadt. The Meiningen – Schweinfurt (section Meiningen – Mellrichstadt) and Werrabahn (section Meiningen – Hildburghausen), the federal motorway 71 (section Meiningen-Nord – Mellrichstadt), the federal road 19 (section Walldorf – Meiningen – A 71) and continue through the natural area the federal road 89 (section Meiningen – Hildburghausen).

Individual evidence

  1. a b Landscape profile  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation | BfN@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bfn.de  
  2. The referenced profile (676 km²) covers a somewhat smaller area than the main unit, since it does not include the Werraaue between Meiningen and Walldorf!
  3. a b E. Meynen and J. J. Schmithüsen (editors): Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany, Volume 2 - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, second delivery Remagen 1955, updated map 1: 1,000,000 with main units 1960
  4. a b Various authors: Geographical Land Survey: The natural space units in single sheets 1: 200,000 - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1952–1991 → online maps ;
    Pages marked with an asterisk (*) have not yet been included in the list.
    • Sheet 126: Fulda (W. Röll 1969) *
    • Sheet 140: Schweinfurt (B. Schwenzer 1968)
    • Sheet 141: Coburg (H. Späth 1987)
  5. Geological map of Thuringia 1942/1969, western part ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 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. and east part / legend ( memento of the original from December 19, 2014 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. - JPG, 5 + 4 MB @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / greif.uni-greifswald.de @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / greif.uni-greifswald.de
  6. Hydrogeological map of Thuringia from the Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology (PDF; 4.37 MB) ( Even finer maps are available for each district .)
  7. ^ 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)