The West Hesse Depression [1] [2] (German : Westhessische Senke) is part of the West Hesse Highlands and Lowlands region in the north of the German state of Hesse. Like the East Hesse Depression, it is a series of separate depressions that form a natural corridor and have been an important historical trade route. [3]
The West Hesse Depression runs along the valleys of the Schwalm, Eder, Fulda, Esse and Diemel roughly from Alsfeld in the south to Bad Karlshafen in the north. It separates the East Hesse Highlands (major regional group 34 or D46), including the Knüll hills and Kaufungen Forest in the east, from the West Hesse Highlands (35 or D47), including the Kellerwald and Habichtswald in the west and is itself part of the West Hesse Highlands, within which it is included as geographical unit 343. Its southern boundary is formed by the northern foothills of the Vogelsberg, which is part of the Hessian Central Uplands within the East Hesse Highlands region. [4]
During the Mesozoic era, the deposits of the Zechstein Sea were overlaid with sand, which then developed into the Bunter sandstone. As a result of further tectonic uplift and subsidence, Muschelkalk was deposited on top of the Bunter sandstone layer. In the subsequent Keuper geological stage, the landscape rose, and flooding alternated with the formation of swamps. In places the land also appears to have been covered by older phases of the Lias epoch.
The subsequent Alpine folding movements have had a lasting effect on the area. These caused the rock to fracture along fault lines, which resulted in rift grabens and enabled volcanic magma to reach the surface. At the same time the surrounding hills were eroded by weathering and rivers. So Keuper and Muschelkalk ridges emerged that ran through the area of Bunter sandstone in a northeast and northwest direction. As the Bunter weathered, layers of Palaeozoic rock were exposed again.
As the Cainozoic era began, the West Hesse Depression emerged as part of a great rift valley from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea; the Mediterranean-Mjøsa Zone. This zone is a succession of grabens that run from the Rhone Valley through the Rhine Rift, the Wetterau and the Gießen Basin, below the Vogelsberg foothills to the Amöneburg Basin, and from there over the Neustadt Saddle in the West Hesse Depression and continuing along the Leine Graben to the Oslo Rift valley. [5]
More recent sea level changes led in the Tertiary period to flooding of the region and the deposition of sand. This covered the extensive forests that had grown up in the warm, moist climate, producing the lignite deposits evident today. Not until the most-recent period, the Quaternary, did the fertile loess soils of the West Hesse Depression appear. [6]
On the river plains of the Schwalm, Eder und Fulda the land of the West Hesse Depression is flat. Elsewhere the West Hesse Depression is a succession of ridges that rise to 300 m above NN (Weinkopf near Borken 298 m). The hill country is mainly covered by loess. In the north there are occasional rounded hills (Kuppen) of basalt and this is also where Mesozoic rocks are found at the surface; whereas Tertiary sediments of gravel, sand and clay predominate in Hessengau. In the Tertiary layers of the Borken Basin there are rich deposits of lignite. [7]
The valleys of the following rivers are within the West Hesse Depression (rivers in brackets only drain the depression):
Ecologically important lakes within the depression are those that were created following the cessation of mining activity: the Borkener See and Singliser See.
| Natural regions of the West Hesse Depression | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Natural region | Area km2 | Topographical map |
| 343.0 | Schwalm | ||
| 343.00 | Schwalm Bottom | 17,83 | TK25 Nr. 5121 |
| 343.01 | Wasenberg Terraces | 75,75 | TK25 Nr. 5121 |
| 343.02 | Alsfeld Hollow | 61,71 | TK25 Nr. 5221 |
| 343.1 | Landsburg Depression | ||
| 343.10 | Trockenerfurth Plain | 12,53 | TK25 Nr. 4921 |
| 343.11 | Landsburg Bottom | 36,20 | TK25 Nr. 5021 |
| 343.12 | Frielendorf Hills | 77,78 | TK25 Nr. 5021 |
| 343.13 | Borken Basin | 24,29 | TK25 Nr. 4921 |
| 343.2 | Hessengau | ||
| 343.20 | Homberg Bay | 42,02 | TK 25 Nr. 4922 |
| 343.21 | Wabern Plain | ||
| 343.210 | Schwalmaue | 22,43 | TK25 Nr. 4921 |
| 343.211 | Fritzlar Eder Corridor | 48,55 | TK25 Nr. 4821 |
| 343.22 | Großenenglise Plateau | 18,38 | TK25 Nr. 4921 |
| 343.23 | Fritzlar Börde | 96,37 | TK25 Nr. 4822 |
| 343.24 | Gudensberg Kuppen Ridge | 29,72 | TK25 Nr. 4822 |
| 343.3 | Kassel Basin | 250,62 | TK25 Nr. 4723 |
| 343.30 | Kassel-Fulda Aue | 17,49 | TK25 Nr. 4623 |
| 343.31 | Kassel Trough | 5,91 | TK25 Nr. 4622 |
| 343.4 | Hofgeismar Depression | 138,45 | TK25 Nr. 4422 |
| 343.5 | North Habichtswald Foreland | ||
| 343.50 | Westuffeln Depression | 31,77 | TK25 Nr. 4522 |
| 343.51 | Langenberg and Staufenberg Plateau | 29,52 | TK25 Nr. 4522 |
Taken from the Hesse Environmental Atlas (Umweltatlas Hessen): [8]
The natural region of the West Hesse Depression is characterised by numerous smaller depressions and plains.
From its southern end, the West Hesse Depression runs in a northwesterly direction through the Schwalm (region) (343.0) which surrounds the upper and middle course of the river of the same name, beginning with the Alsfeld Hollow (Alsfelder Mulde) followed by the Wasenberg Terraces and the Schwalm Bottom (Schwalmgrund).
Continuing in a northeasterly direction around the middle reaches of the Schwalm is the Landsburg Depression (343.1) with its sub-units the Landsburg Bottom, Frielendorf Hills, Trockenerfurth Plain and the Borken Basin.
The transition into the Hessengau region (343.2) with the confluence of the Schwalm and the Eder continues northeast via the regional sub-units of the Homberg Bay, Wabern Plain (Schwalmaue and Fritzlar Eder Corridor), Großenenglis Plateau, Fritzlar Börde and the Gudensberg Kuppen Ridge into the Kassel Basin.
In the Kassel Basin (343.3) by the lower course of the Fulda with its sub-units the Kassel Fulda Floodplain and Kassel Trough the West Hesse Depression swings northwest again and leaves the catchment area of the Fulda, to enter that of the Diemel.
To the northwest it runs along the Nebelbeeke and the Warme which drains into the Diemel, and into the North Habichtswald Foreland with its sub-units of the Westuffeln Depression and the Langenberg and Staufenberg Plateau.
Northeast of the Kassel Basin are the Hofgeismar Depression, which follows the Esse (Diemel) and finally the lower course of the Diemel until just before its confluence with the Weser. This natural region has an area of 138.45 square kilometres and is the second largest within the West Hesse Depression.
The origin of the name "West Hesse" is derived from the neighbouring natural region of the East Hesse Highlands. The catchment area draining northwards into the River Weser can be referred to as a North Hesse Depression. [8]
In the West Hesse Depression are: [7]
Especially important avifauna regions are found near Borken (Hessen), where the Tagebau Gombeth is a breeding area of national significance. Other areas of national importance are:
Of regional significance is the Ems river, a breeding and wintering area.
The Borkener See nature reserve (332 ha) is also a Special Area of Conservation. [7]
Hesse or Hessia, officially the State of Hesse, is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Darmstadt and Kassel. With an area of 21,114.73 square kilometers and a population of over six million, it ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, among the sixteen German states. Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany's second-largest metropolitan area, is mainly located in Hesse.
Kassel district is a district in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Northeim, Göttingen, Werra-Meißner, Schwalm-Eder, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Höxter. The independent city of Kassel is nearly completely surrounded by the district.
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis is a Kreis (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, and Waldeck-Frankenberg.
Waldeck-Frankenberg is a Kreis (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Höxter, Kassel, Schwalm-Eder, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Hochsauerland.
Felsberg is a town in the Schwalm-Eder district about 25 kilometres south of Kassel.
Bundesautobahn 49 is a federal motorway running through north Hesse. It connects Kassel with the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, where it ends in Neuental. The motorway is planned to be extended to Gemünden (Felda) with a connection to A 5.
Borken is a small town with about 13,000 inhabitants in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany.
Bad Zwesten is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district of Hesse, Germany.
Jesberg is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district in Hesse, Germany.
Melsungen is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th Hessentag state festival.
Neuental is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district in Hesse, Germany.
Wolfershausen is one of the sixteen constituent communities that form the town of Felsberg in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, North Hesse, Germany.
The West Hesse Highlands, also known as the West Hessian Lowlands and Highlands, are a heavily forested region of the Central Uplands in Germany. These highlands lie mainly within the state of Hesse, between that part of the Rhenish Massif right of the Rhine in the west, the Weser Uplands to the north, the Hessian Central Uplands to the east and the Wetterau to the south.
The East Hesse Highlands describes a heavily wooded range of hills lying mainly in the German state of Hesse, but also extending a little way into Lower Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east and Bavaria to the southeast. The region is sandwiched between the West Hesse Depression to the west, the Weser Uplands to the north, the Thuringian Basin to the northeast, the northwestern edge of the Thuringian Forest to the east, the Spessart to the south and the Wetterau to the southwest.
The region of Middle Hesse is one of three planning regions in the German state of Hesse, alongside North and South Hesse. Its territory is identical with that of the administrative province of Gießen and covers the counties of Limburg-Weilburg, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Gießen, Marburg-Biedenkopf and Vogelsbergkreis. The Middle Hesse Regional Assembly, which decides on the regional plan, currently consists of 31 members chosen by the five counties and the three towns with special status: Gießen, Marburg and Wetzlar. The regional assembly has tasked the governing president (Regierungspräsident) with delivering regional management. The Mid-Hesse Regional Management Association was founded on 22 January 2003.
The Schwalm is a natural region or landscape unit within the West Hesse Depression and also the smallest basin within it. It is named after the River Schwalm, on whose middle reaches it lies. In the east the Schwalm region is bounded by the Knüll hills, in the south by the northern foothills of the Vogelsberg and, in the west, by the Gilserberg Heights. In the north the Schwalm transitions into the Landsburg Basin.
The Upper Hessian Ridge or Upper Hesse Ridge is a hill chain in the West Hesse Highlands in North and Middle Hesse, which lies on the Rhine-Weser watershed and links the montane Central Upland ranges of the Kellerwald and the Vogelsberg in a north-south direction. The swell is divided into the Gilserberg Heights in the north, the central Neustadt Saddle and the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland in the south.
The Langenberg, also colloquially called the Langenberge (plural) due to its several and widely spaced hilltops, is a hill range of the German Central Uplands which covers an area of over 22 km² and reaches a height of 556.7 m above sea level (NHN) at the Schwengeberg. It is a natural region in the Habichtswald Highlands in the counties of Kassel and Schwalm-Eder-Kreis in North Hesse.
The is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsberg is Central Europe's largest basalt formation, consisting of a multitude of layers that descend from their peak in ring-shaped terraces to the base.
The Söhre is a forested hill range of the German Central Uplands and a subordinate natural region of the Fulda-Werra Uplands in North Hesse, Germany.