Foreland of the western Swabian Alb

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The foreland of the western Swabian Alb (also: Südwestliches Albvorland ) is a natural area (main unit 100) of the Swabian Keuper-Lias-Land in the south-west of Germany .

Foreland of the western Swabian Alb (in the foreground Weilstetten , behind it Balingen )

Location outline

The foreland of the Südwestalb extends from the Primtal to the Starzeltal , i.e. from Spaichingen in the southwest to Hechingen in the northeast, over around 35 km and is subdivided as follows:

  • 100.1 Prim-Alb foreland
  • 100.2 Central part of the Western Alb foreland
    • 100.20 The Keuperrand hills of the Kleiner Heuberg
    • 100.21 Little Heuberg
    • 100.22 Schischem and Eyach-Albrand Bay
  • 100.3 East wing of the Western Alb foreland
    • 100.30 Starzel-Alb foreland
    • 100.31 The Killertal and its Alb foothills

geology

A wooded step edge (Keuper), two mostly open stratified areas that are separated from each other by a low, hilly step (Lias plates) and the wooded, valley and brook-rich strip of hills of the Alb foothills (Brown Jura) follow one another in the western Alb foreland. It consists of a staircase with small, narrow steps. The rapid sequence of steps is due to the large gradation of layers, the small graduation is due to the frequent alternation of harder and softer layers. The border against the neighboring Swabian Alb to the south is where the resistant limestone of the White Jura forms the Alb eaves .

The southwestern foothills of the Alb consists of the narrow arable border of the lower Lias plate and the ridge and plates of the upper Lias, which are criss-crossed by a network of wide valleys, and which are greatest in the area of ​​the Kleiner Heuberg . In the south, the areas covered with good clay soils are 700 m above sea level. Separated by the valley of the Schwarzenbach, the area of ​​the Kleiner Heuberg joins in the northeast, where the landscape drops to around 650 m above sea level. The north-west edge is formed by the flat slabs of the lower lias, over which the flat, undulating oil slate slabs of the upper lias rise with a 50 m high step broken up into ridge. This oil shale, which in part leads to hard limestone banks, could not be removed so easily due to its water-repellent bitumen content.

Wide, damp valleys have been cleared out between the lias plates. There are also numerous spring troughs in this part of the landscape. Even in the easternmost part of the landscape there is a division into a narrow lower and a wider upper Lias stage, which is still at about 580 m above sea level. This part of the landscape is characterized by numerous streams running into the Starzeltal.

Protected areas

The western foothills of the Alb offers a varied and sometimes small-scale alternation of different uses between arable land, grassland, orchards and settlement areas. There are several nature reserves, the largest of which are in the Schwarzenbachtal near Schömberg and at the foot of the Hohenzollernberg . The latter is also designated as an FFH area. In this landscape u. a. the high density of flowing water and the numerous orchards.

Protected area shares % Total landscape area
FFH areas 9.07
European bird sanctuaries 6.28
Nature reserves 0.95
Other protected areas 0
Effective proportion of the protected area 12.99

Source: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, as of 2010.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Huttenlocher: Geographical Land Survey: The natural space units on sheet 178 Sigmaringen. Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1959. → Online map (PDF; 4.3 MB)

literature

  • Friedrich Huttenlocher: The natural space units on sheet 178 (Sigmaringen) of the geographic land survey 1: 200000 of the natural space structure of Germany, Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg, 1959

Web links