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Germany: Germany Geography Profile 2012

2012/03/12

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Germany Geography Profile 2012

p class="rtejustify"> From the North and Baltic Seas to the Alps in the south, the Federal Republic of Germany, according to the territorial status as from 3 October 1990, is divided geographically into the North German Plain, the Central Upland Range, the Southwest German Central Upland Scarps, the South German Alpine Foreland and the Bavarian Alps.

 

The North German Plain or lowland south of the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas with their offshore islands is a western extension of the East European Plain, which was reshaped by nordic ice sheets. Its elaborate structure varies from hilly blocks of clay and sandy terrain (geest), which are covered by many lakes and are interspersed in the northwest with heaths and moors, to wide and damp depressions and ice-margin stream trenches. Fertile loess areas (Börden) stretch along the foothills of the Central Upland Range into which lowland basins with favourable climatic conditions penetrate far southwards, namely the Lower Rhenish Basin, the Westphalian Basin and the Saxon-Thuringian Basin. In the north of the plain, the Federal Republic's territory extends into the marshes along the North Sea coast which reach up to the edge of the geest. The Baltic Sea coast is cut deeply in the west (Schleswig-Holstein) by long narrow sea inlets (Förden), while in the east (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) its shape is characterised by lagoon-like sea inlets and a counterbalancing coastline. The main islands in the North Sea are the East Frisian Islands (among them, Borkum and Norderney), the North Frisian Islands (Amrum, Föhr, Sylt and the Halligs), Heligoland in the Heligoland Bight, as well as Rügen, Usedom and Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea.

The Central Upland Range, in which several geologic-tectonic zones can be distinguished, shows a considerable variety of landscapes. It includes the Rhenish Slate Mountains, the main parts of which are Hunsrück (816 m), Eifel with High Venn (747 m), Taunus (879 m), Westerwald, Bergisches Land and Sauerland with the Rothaar Mountains (843 m), the Hessian Mountains (950 m)and the Weser and Leine Mountain Ranges, east of which the Harz Mountains rise up to 1,142 m of height; it furthermore comprises the Bavarian Forest (1,456 m), the Upper Palatinate Forest (901 m), the Fichtel Mountains (1.051 m), the Franconian Forest (795 m), the Thuringian Forest (983 m) and the Ore Mountains (1,215 m). The Central Upland Range divides northern Germany from the south. The narrow Central Rhine valley between Bingen and Bonn and the Hessian depressions, which stretch into the Leine valley, break through this upland mountain range.

The Southwest German Central Upland Scarps embrace the upper Rhine valley, whose boundaries are formed by the mountain ranges of the Black Forest (1.493 m), the Oden Forest and Spessart (626 m), the Palatinate Forest (673 m) with the Haardt, and the Swabian-Franconian scarpland with the elevated alp (1,015 m).

The broad South-German Alpine Foreland, the Swabian-Bavarian Plateau with its hills and large lakes in the south (Chiemsee, etc.) and its wide till plains, the hilly landscape of Lower Bavaria and the Danube basin, rises to an average altitude of 500 m. Tertiary sediments were covered here by moraines and gravels deposited by Pleistocene Alpine glaciers and their meltwater which partly advanced far into the foreland. The northern fringes of the foreland are also covered by loess, a fine windblown (eolian) dust enriched with chalk and quartz.
The Alpine region of Germany between Lake Constance and Salzburg embraces only a narrow portion of these young fold mountains. The distinctive pre-Alpine belt of sandstone hills with many alpine pastures merges into the mountain chains which are part of the Outer Limestone Alps. They encompass the Allgäuer Alps located between Bregenzer Wald and Lech (Hochfrottspitze 2.649 m, Mädelegabel 2.645 m, Hochvogel 2.592 m), the North Tyrolean Limestone Alps between Fernpass and Tyrolean Ache including the Wetterstein Mountains (Zugspitze, at 2,962 m the highest point of the Federal Republic), the Karwendel Mountains and picturesque mountain lakes (Walchensee, Eibsee), and finally impressive parts of the Salzburg Limestone Alps in the Berchtesgarden region (Watzmann, 2,713 m, with Königssee).
The German Nature Protection Law distinguishes between reserves and sanctuaries for different goals and protective purposes (e.g. nature protection areas, biosphere reserves, landscape conservation areas, national parks, natural parks).

In addition, directives of the European Community (EC) and international contracts provide for the protection of ecologically valuable areas. The regions covered by the various categories of protected areas, therefore, overlap to a large extent or even are identical so that adding up the areas does not make sense.

More information on “nature protection” is contained in the chapter “environment”.

The Federal Republic's climate is determined by its location in a zone of temperate climatic conditions with frequent weather changes. A characteristic feature is the wind from westerly directions and precipitation all the year round. Annual rainfalls amount to under 500 to 700 mm in the North German Plain, about 700 to more than 1,500 mm in the upland mountain range and to over 2,000 mm in the Alps. Progressing from the northwest to the east and southeast, the maritime climate gradually changes into a more continental climate. However, neither the daily variations of temperatures nor the seasonal ones go to extremes anywhere. The mean temperatures in January, the coldest month of the year, are around + 1.5°C in the lowlands and may fall to under – 6°C in the mountains depending on the altitude. The mean July temperatures are + 17°C to + 18°C in the North German Plain and up to + 20°C in the Upper Rhine Valley. The annual mean temperature is around 9° C.

From a hydrographical point of view, the south of Germany belongs partly to the catchment area of the Danube, which flows into the Black Sea. Major parts of the East Holstein Hill and Lake Land and of the regions in the north and north-east of the Mecklenburg Lake District belong to the Baltic Sea’s catchment area. All other landscapes are drained by the Rhine, Ems, Weser and Elbe rivers into the North Sea.


The following mineral resources are worth mentioning:

* the hard coal deposits of the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial area on both sides of the Lower Rhine and between Ruhr and Lippe (Ruhr area), the Aachen and Saar fields;
* the large lignite fields in the Rhenish Basin (west of Cologne) and in the Leipzig Basin as well as in Lower Lusatia, to a smaller extent also in the West Hessian Depression and Upper Palatinate;
* the iron ore deposits in the Rhenish Slate Mountains (in Siegerland and in the Dill and Lahn valleys), in the east of the Franconian Alp and the northern periphery of the Harz (between Salzgitter and Gifhorn);
* the oil reserves in Northwest Germany, particularly in the Ems region, north of Hanover and in Schleswig-Holstein (minor deposits also in the Upper Rhine Valley and the Bavarian Alpine foreland);
* the natural gas reserves in the North German Plain northwest of Hanover, in Saxony-Anhalt (south of Magdeburg), in the Upper Rhine valley and in the Bavarian Alpine foreland;
* the rock salt deposits in Lower Saxony (northeast of Hanover and north of Helmstedt) and Bavaria (Bad Reichenhall and Berchtesgaden); the potash fields in Lower Saxony (east of Hanover), in Hesse, Thuringia (on the Werra and south of Fulda and Nordhausen) and South Baden (south of Freiburg).

 

Areas of high population density have formed over the last few decades along both sides of the Rhine valley (Rhine axis), in particular, in the Upper Rhine region, in the Rhine-Neckar and Rhine-Main regions, in the Cologne area and in the periphery of the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial area. Population density has also increased in the Northwest German lowland around Bremen and in the Ems region as well as in the northern foreland of the upland mountain range around the cities of Hanover and Brunswick, the same being true of Hamburg and Munich, two cities with more than a million inhabitants each, and of Nuremberg and Augsburg, two other large cities.

Location: 

Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Geographic coordinates: 

51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references: 

Europe

Area comparative: 

slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries Total: 

3,621km

Land boundaries Note: 

Climate: 
Germany lies farther north than the United States, excluding Alaska, but its climate is not severe. It is a transitional kind between the mild, oceanic climate of north-western Europe and the much harsher continental climate farther east. In general, westerly winds prevail throughout the year, bringing the ocean's warmth inland during winter and its coolness during summer. Periods of either extremely hot or cold weather are brief and infrequent, coming with the passage of air masses from the Eurasian interior.
The ocean's influence is strongest along the North Sea coast, where winters are damp and moderately cold and summers warm to cool. Temperatures average near 32° F. (0° C.) during January and between 60° and 65° F. (16° and 18° C.) during July. Precipitation, including small amounts of snow, is about 30 inches (760 mm) a year.
Away from the coast, to the south and east, summers become somewhat warmer and winters slightly colder. Precipitation is a little less than along the coast, and more of it falls as snow. There is also a tendency toward clearer, sunnier weather. Temperatures normally average somewhat below freezing during January and around 65° F. (18° C.) during July.
In the higher upland areas and in the mountainous parts of Germany the climate is influenced considerably by increased elevation, which results in lower temperatures throughout the year and more abundant precipitation, especially snow. Deep snow normally covers the higher parts of the Alps during winter.
Terrain: 

lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Natural resources: 

coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

Natural hazards: 

flood

Environment - current issues: 

emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive

Geography note: 

strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea