West Hesse Highlands

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The Kellerwald in the West Hesse Highlands, with the Hohes Lohr (656.7 m, l), Jeust (585.0 m, m) and Wustegarten (675.3 m, r); in front are the Gilserberg Heights Kellerwald ges2.jpg
The Kellerwald in the West Hesse Highlands, with the Hohes Lohr (656.7 m, l), Jeust (585.0 m, m) and Wüstegarten (675.3 m, r); in front are the Gilserberg Heights
View from the Amoneburg of the southeastern Amoneburg Basin, the Vogelsberg foothills (right: the 405 and 407 m high Mardorfer Kuppe) and the "actual" Vogelsberg (left rear) Vogelsberg von Amoeneburg.jpg
View from the Amöneburg of the southeastern Amöneburg Basin, the Vogelsberg foothills (right: the 405 and 407 m high Mardorfer Kuppe) and the "actual" Vogelsberg (left rear)

The West Hesse Highlands (German : Westhessisches Bergland), also known as the West Hessian Lowlands and Highlands (Westhessisches Berg- und Senkenland), 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 [lower-alpha 1] to the east and the Wetterau to the south.

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The West Hesse Highlands form one of the major natural regions of Germany (Natural Region No. 34 or D46) and are part of the Central European Uplands as well as being the watershed between the Rhine and the Weser. They comprise a line of hill ranges in the west, running north-northeast to south-southwest on the shoulder of the Rhenish Massif and include the Kellerwald, and a fault trough in the east, the West Hesse Depression.

The West and East Hesse Highlands, together referred to as the Hesse Highlands, combine to form the geological unit known as the Hesse Depression [lower-alpha 2] (Hessischen Senke), in its wider sense. Here, geologically young layers of Zechstein and Bunter sandstone, and in places even younger rocks like Muschelkalk, of the Jurassic, Paleogene and Neogene periods, have been preserved. [1]

Division of natural regions

The highlands comprise the following geographical subdivisions according to the Hesse Environmental Atlas (Umweltatlas Hessen): [2]

Landscape

The tectonics of the Upper Rhine Rift, which continues along the eastern edge of the Rhenish Massif as far as the Upper Weser Hills, form highlands and lowlands here that merge into the volcanic East Hesse Highlands beyond the West Hesse Depression on their eastern perimeter. The ridges never attain the height of the loftiest peaks of the highlands to the east and west.

Although the two highland areas of this Central Upland region reach heights of 675 m (Kellerwald) and 615 m (Habichtswald), the typical height of the ridges is more like 400 m. Between them, there are large river valleys and depressions, in places up to 200 m lower.

Location of the geographical units

The Habichtswald highlands, which are up to 615 m high, in the north are separated from the peaks of the Waldeck Plateau (Waldeck Plateau) to the west, generally between 400 und 500 m high, by the East Waldeck Basin (East Waldeck Basin). Immediately south of the plateau is the 675 m high Kellerwald. The latter runs away to the south, splitting into two ridges mainly around 400 m high: the Burgwald, to the southwest, and the Upper Hessian Ridge to the south.

South of the Burgwald is the Marburg-Gießen Lahn Valley to the west (up to 380 m high near the Lahnberge) and the Amöneburg Basin to the east, which is flat apart from the singularity of the 365 m high Amöneburg itself. The basin rises southwards into the 405 m high (Lumda Plateau) Vogelsberg foothills. In the far east, the West Hesse Depression runs alongside almost all the ridges mentioned, following the valleys of the Schwalm (south) and Eder (north).

The northern part of the Burgwald, the southwestern Kellerwald and the Upper Hessian Ridge form part of the Rhine-Weser watershed and link the Rothaargebirge with the Vogelsberg.

The many depressions in the West Hesse Highlands and Lowlands have led to a buildup of loess soils, which is why arable farming is widespread here.

Hills (selection)

Rivers

The main rivers in the West Hesse Highlands flow from the west out of the Rothaar Mountains: the Diemel (only right-hand tributaries, north), Eder (middle) and Lahn (only left-hand tributaries and river valley, south). Whilst the two rivers of the Weser river system in the extreme northeast (Diemel) and east (Eder) discharge into the West Hesse Depression, the Lahn leaves the Highlands after following a semi-circular course and heads southwest into the Rhine Massif again.

The right-hand tributaries of the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda and thus part of the Main river system, only enter a small part of the Vogelsberg foothills in the extreme southeast. In addition, a few left tributaries of the Fulda from the Habichtswald highlands join the Fulda itself just below the Eder confluence.

Major rivers

The following table lists the most important rivers in the West Hesse Highlands, from north to south and internally in a downstream direction, i.e. mainly from west to east. [3]

For a better overview or to sort them downstream based on the river system, enter the following DGKZ code numbers after the number 44 - Diemel, 428 - Eder, 24 - Fulda, 258 - Lahn and 2484 - Wetter.
Natural regions in italics are those outside the West Hesse Highlands; catchment areas and discharge quantities are given in italics where they only represent part of the total value (see footnotes below the table)!

Name
Main
river
Length
[km]
Catchment area
[km2]
Discharge
(MQ) [l/s]
Source region
(of the tributaries)
Main
units
DGKZ
Glinde [4] Diemel (r)8.435.3 Waldeck Plain 34044-32
OrpeDiemel (r)19.198.1774.2 Waldeck Plateau 34044-34
Twiste*** [4] Diemel (r)40.8446.72,685.9 E. Sauerland Hills
(Waldeck Plateau;
Habichtswald - r)		332
(340;
342 - r)		44-4
Calenberger Bach (Holsterbach)*** [4] Diemel (r)9.134.088.7 Habichtswald 34244-52
WarmeDiemel (r)33.1157.31,321.4 Habichtswald 34244-6
EsseDiemel (r)27.6191.91,187.8 West Hesse Depression 34344-8
Itter*Eder (l)11.676.1771.3 Waldeck Plain
( E. Sauerland Hills )		340
(332)		428-531
Aselbach*Eder (l)6.618.1135.4 Waldecker Fields 340428-533
Werbe*Eder (l)13.242.3322.6 Waldeck Plateau 340428-537
Reiherbach*Eder (l)7.427.3188.9 Waldeck Plateau 340428-538
NetzeEder (l)12.929.0169.5 Waldeck Plateau 340428-554
ElbeEder (l)33123.5731.3 Waldeck Forest
(Habichtswald)		340
(342)		428-6
EmsEder (l)34.1146.2753.3 Habichtswald 342428-92
PilgerbachEder (l)8.825.6102.2 Habichtswald 342428-98
BaunaFulda (l)17.247.4333.8 Habichtswald 34242-92
GrunnelbachFulda (l)9.224.1150.0 Habichtswald 34242-94
Drusel**Fulda (l)11.411.096.4 Habichtswald 34242-952
Ahne**Fulda (l)21.421.1295.5 Habichtswald 34242-958
EspeFulda (l)8.624.3159.5 Habichtswald 34242-992
NempheEder (r)14.238.4293.5Northern Burgwald 345428-198
LengelbachEder (r)11.425.9209.9Northern Burgwald
(Kellerwald - r)		345
(344)		428-32
LorfeEder (r)11.824.3245.7 Kellerwald 344428-512
Banferbach*Eder (r)7.216.4213.9 Kellerwald 344428-535
WesebachEder (r)25.363.4618.2 Kellerwald 344428-56
WildeEder (r)17.151.9471.4 Kellerwald 344428-58
Schwalm Eder (r)97.11,298.89,044.5 Vogelsberg
( Fulda-Haune Tableland , Knüll - r;
U. Hessian Ridge, Kellerwald - l)		350/1
(355, 356 - r;
346, 344 - l)		428-8
WetschaftLahn (l)29.0196.21,701.6Northern Burgwald
( E. Sauerland Hills , Rothaargebirge - r)		345
(332, 333)		258-18
Ohm Lahn (l)59.7983.87,949.8 Vogelsberg
(U. Hessian Ridge, Kellerwald, Burgwald - r;
Vogelsberg foothills - l)		350/1
(346, 344, 345 - r;
349 - l)		258-2
Zwester OhmLahn (l)20.069.5405.2Vogelsberg foothills349258-334
LumdaLahn (l)30.0131.5950.4Vogelsberg foothills349258-36
WieseckLahn (l)24.3119.6663.5Vogelsberg foothills349258-38
KleebachLahn (l)26.9164.6815.9 Eastern Hintertaunus
(Vogelsberg foothills - r)		302
(349)		258-396
LauterWetter (r)7.013.6126.2Vogelsberg foothills3492484-14
ÄschersbachWetter (r)13.642.9325.3Vogelsberg foothills3492484-2

(*: Edersee tributaries); **: Catchment area and discharge somewhat larger than given in the table, because the lower courses are combined with the Fulda sections; ***: Discharge value excluding confluence region in NRW)

Schwalm and Ohm

The two longest and biggest rivers in the table by far, the Schwalm and the Ohm, have a special role. They both emerge in the Vogelsberg , which the Ohm leaves after about 45% of its total length and 27% of its catchment area with roughly 35% of its volume [3] (see also here). The Schwalm, on the other hand, leaves the Vogelsberg much earlier and receives about half its water volume at its mouth from right-hand tributaries from the East Hesse Highlands .

Because the river systems of both rivers drain several major areas, they may be considered more or less as major rivers.

Rivers which enter the Schwalm from the left out of the West Hesse Highlands include the following:

Significant tributaries from the middle and lower courses of the Ohm are:

Other rivers crossing the boundary of this natural region are the Twiste in the northwest, the Kleebach in the southwest and the Wetschaft in the west.

The Wetschaft, which is fed from the left by the Burgwald, receives more water at its confluence with the Treisbach (r, 16.8 km, 68.2 km2) flowing out of the Rothaargebirge (810 L/s) than it delivers to that point (666.2 L/s), despite the fact that it has already been fed from the right by the East Sauerland Hills

The Kleebach on the other hand draws most of its water from the Eastern Hintertaunus , only receiving a small quantity of water from the Vogelsberg foothills via its right-hand stream, the Lückenbach (12.0 km, 38.9 km2, 139 km).

Opposite, the Twiste rises almost in the East Sauerland Hills, but receives, apart from this source region, all its water from the West Hesse Highlands. Likewise, only a little water flows into the Itter in the northwest from the eastern slopes of those particular hills.

Waterbodies

The largest and most important stretch of water in the West Hesse Highlands by far is the Edersee. Other lakes and reservoirs are listed below:

Name
Dammed
river
Area
[ha]
Catchment area
[km2]
Discharge
(MQ) [l/s]
Height
above [NN]
Location
Main-
units
Edersee Eder 11.8001.406,121.795,4245 Kellerwald 344
Affolderner See Eder 1651.452.422.104,5204 East Waldeck Basin 341
Twistesee Twiste76125,3828,6210 Waldeck Forest 340
Antrift Valley DamAntreff3161,6674,0281 Northern Vogelsberg Foreland 346
Borkener See (N/A)1393,5177 West Hesse Depression 343
Singliser See (N/A)74185 West Hesse Depression 343

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Part of the East Hesse Highlands.
  2. ↑ Divided by Dickinson (1964) into the West and East Hesse Depressions and the Vogelsberg-Meissner and Spessart-Rhön Axes.

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahn</span> Right tributary of Rhine river in Germany

The Lahn is a 245.6-kilometre-long (152.6 mi), right tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amöneburg</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Amöneburg is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. It lies on a mountain and is built around the castle of the same name, Burg Amöneburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirchhain</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Kirchhain is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadtallendorf</span> Town in Hesse, Germany

Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about 18 km east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgwald</span> Municipality in Hesse, Germany

Burgwald is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellerwald</span>

The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohm (river)</span> River in Germany

The Ohm is a river in Hesse, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hesse Depression</span>

The West Hesse Depression 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgholz (hill)</span> Mountain in Germany

Burgholz is a hill in the Gilserberg Heights near the town of Kirchhain in Marburg-Biedenkopf, which is 379 metres (1,243 ft) high. On the summit and the north-east slope is the district of Burgholz, which is part of the town of Kirchhain. The majority of the hill is covered by trees, with the exception of some housing on one slope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urff</span> River in Germany

Urff is a 20.1-kilometre-long (12.5 mi) tributary of the river Schwalm in Waldeck-Frankenberg and Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, North Hesse (Germany). It flows into the Schwalm near Niederurff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Hesse</span>

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 Hesse Highlands, Hessian Highlands or Hessian Highlands and Lowlands, are a largely densely forested low mountain area in the German state of Hesse that lies between the Rhenish Massif and the western edge of the Thuringian Basin. The Hesse Highlands are both part of the German Central Uplands and the Rhine-Weser Watershed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Hessian Ridge</span> Hill chain in Germany

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langenberg (Habichtswald)</span> Hill range in Germany

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vogelsberg</span> Mountain range in 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.

References

Dickinson, Robert E. (1964). Germany: A regional and economic geography (2nd ed.). London: Methuen.

  1. ↑ Dierck Henningsen (1986), Einführung in die Geologie der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (in German) (3. ed.), Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke Verlag, pp. 49–54, ISBN   3-432-88513-X
  2. ↑ Karte und Beschreibung des Westhessischen Berglandes im Umweltatlas Hessen
  3. 1 2 River data from WRRL Hessen
  4. 1 2 3 River data from NRW at TIM online

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