The Thuringian Highland,[1]Thuringian Highlands or Thuringian-Vogtlandian Slate Mountains[2] (German: Thüringer Schiefergebirge or Thüringisches Schiefergebirge, literally "Thuringian Slate Hills") is a low range of mountains in the German state of Thuringia.
Slate houses like these in Gehren characterise many of the villages in the Thuringian Highland
The Thuringian Highland borders on the Thuringian Forest to the southwest. It is a plateau about 20 km wide that slopes southeast towards the Saale valley in the area of the Saale Dam and includes parts of the Thuringian Forest and Thuringian Highland and Upper Saale Nature Park.
The slate mountains of the Vogtland and Thuringian Highland stretch from the Thuringian Forest to the Ore Mountains. They are between about 300 m to 500 m above NN high, and comprise gently rolling hills which are part of the backbone of the Central Uplands. They extend for about 75 km from east to west and 50 km from north to south. Typical features of the landscape are the dolerite peaks or Kuppen (like the Pöhlde or the Hübel) with their wooded crests. These are made from a volcanic rock, dolerite, which is harder than the surrounding rocks and so weathers more slowly, giving rise to the characteristic Kuppen.
As its German name suggests, the Thuringian Highland is mainly made of slate rock. Although this region was formed in a similar way to the Harz, it lacks the sharp divisions caused by fault lines. Almost all the way round the region transitions gradually into the surrounding land. The rocks found here are from the Palaeozoic era, i.e. the Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian and Lower Carboniferous periods. The most important ones are:
Around the steep-sided valleys of the Schwarza and Saale the height difference between hilltops and valley bottoms is often as much as 300 m or more, which is large for hills of this size.
^Dickinson, Robert E. (1964). Germany: A regional and economic geography (2nd ed.). London: Methuen. p. 629.
^Kohl, Horst; Marcinek, Joachim and Nitz, Bernhard (1986). Geography of the German Democratic Republic, VEB Hermann Haack, Gotha, p. 7 ff. ISBN978-3-7301-0522-1.
Literatureedit
Ernst Kaiser: Thüringerwald und Schiefergebirge, 2nd improved and expanded edn., Gotha, 1955.
Adolf Hanle (ed.): Thüringerwald und Schiefergebirge, Mannheim etc. 1992. ISBN3-411-07191-5
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The Thuringian Highland 1 Thuringian Highlands or Thuringian Vogtlandian Slate Mountains 2 German Thuringer Schiefergebirge or Thuringisches Schiefergebirge literally Thuringian Slate Hills is a low range of mountains in the German state of Thuringia Slate houses like these in Gehren characterise many of the villages in the Thuringian Highland Contents 1 Geography 2 Geology 3 Rivers and hydro electric power 4 Mountains and hills 5 See also 6 References 7 Literature 8 External linksGeography editThe Thuringian Highland borders on the Thuringian Forest to the southwest It is a plateau about 20 km wide that slopes southeast towards the Saale valley in the area of the Saale Dam and includes parts of the Thuringian Forest and Thuringian Highland and Upper Saale Nature Park The largest towns in the Thuringian Highland are Saalfeld and Bad Blankenburg which lie on its northern perimeter Neuhaus am Rennweg in the highest region and Bad Lobenstein on the eastern edge where it transitions into Franconian Forest The area includes a total of 4 smaller regions upper Saale valley Plothen Lake District High slate mountains Sormitz Schwarza region The slate mountains of the Vogtland and Thuringian Highland stretch from the Thuringian Forest to the Ore Mountains They are between about 300 m to 500 m above NN high and comprise gently rolling hills which are part of the backbone of the Central Uplands They extend for about 75 km from east to west and 50 km from north to south Typical features of the landscape are the dolerite peaks or Kuppen like the Pohlde or the Hubel with their wooded crests These are made from a volcanic rock dolerite which is harder than the surrounding rocks and so weathers more slowly giving rise to the characteristic Kuppen Geology edit nbsp The Steinerne Rose a diabase rock formation near Saalburg Ebersdorf As its German name suggests the Thuringian Highland is mainly made of slate rock Although this region was formed in a similar way to the Harz it lacks the sharp divisions caused by fault lines Almost all the way round the region transitions gradually into the surrounding land The rocks found here are from the Palaeozoic era i e the Ordovician Silurian Devonian and Lower Carboniferous periods The most important ones are Shale Alaunschiefer Radiolarite Limestone Sandstone Greywacke Dolerite Spilite and volcanic conglomerates Karst forming and hence cave forming limestone only occurs in a few small isolated areas As a result the number of caves is very low Rivers and hydro electric power editIn the Saale Valley there are two of the largest dams in Germany which form the Hohenwarte and Bleiloch Reservoirs In the Schwarza Valley there is the Goldisthal Pumped Storage Station opened in 2003 which is one of the largest pumped storage hydro electric power stations in Europe Mountains and hills editAround the steep sided valleys of the Schwarza and Saale the height difference between hilltops and valley bottoms is often as much as 300 m or more which is large for hills of this size Grosser Farmdenkopf 869 m Sonneberg district Kieferle 867 m Sonneberg district Blessberg 865 m Hildburghausen district Durre Fichte 861 m Sonneberg district Breitenberg Thuringian Forest 844 m Sonneberg district Fellberg 842 m Steinach Sonneberg district Eselsberg 842 m Hildburghausen district Thuringian Forest Thuringian Highland border Pechleite 839 m Hildburghausen district Fehrenberg 835 m Hildburghausen district Thuringian Forest Thuringian Highland border Hoher Schuss 827 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Wurzelberg 820 m Sonneberg district Jagdschirm 813 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Hintere Haube 811 m Ilm district Langer Berg 809 m Ilm district Hettstadt 808 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Rauhhugel 802 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Roter Berg 799 m Sonneberg district Wetzstein 791 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Meuselbacher Kuppe 786 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Frobelturm 784 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Grendel 784 m Hildburghausen district Spitzer Berg 781 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Simmersberg 781 m Landkr Hildburghausen Thuringian Forest Thuringian Highland border Himmelsleiter Berg 774 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Topfersbuhl 762 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Sieglitzberg 733 m Saale Orla district Kirchberg Thuringia 725 3 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Rosenberg Thuringian Highland 716 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Grosser Muhlberg 714 m Sonneberg district Quittelsberg 709 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Bocksberg 696 m Sonneberg district Auf der Heide 668 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Beerberg 667 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Barigauer Hohe 665 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Zipptanskuppe 657 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Rosenbuhl 653 m Saale Orla district Keilsburg 648 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Eisenberg 636 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Talberg 602 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Batzenberg 588 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Schwarzer Berg Thuringia 582 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Elmischer Berg 529 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Geiersberg 520 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Rabenhugel 506 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Roderberg 502 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Sommerberg 493 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt district Ziegenberg 460 m Saalfeld Rudolstadt districtSee also editThuringian ForestReferences edit Dickinson Robert E 1964 Germany A regional and economic geography 2nd ed London Methuen p 629 Kohl Horst Marcinek Joachim and Nitz Bernhard 1986 Geography of the German Democratic Republic VEB Hermann Haack Gotha p 7 ff ISBN 978 3 7301 0522 1 Literature editErnst Kaiser Thuringerwald und Schiefergebirge 2nd improved and expanded edn Gotha 1955 Adolf Hanle ed Thuringerwald und Schiefergebirge Mannheim etc 1992 ISBN 3 411 07191 5External links editThuringian Highland Nature Park 50 30 N 11 10 E 50 500 N 11 167 E 50 500 11 167 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thuringian Highland amp oldid 1174155014, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
