Geography of Germany

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This article describes the geography of Germany.

Germany is a large country in Central Europe, stretching from the Alps, across the North European Plain to the North Sea (Nordsee) and the Baltic Sea (Ostsee).

Contents 1 Terrain 2 Climate 3 Land use 4 Caves 5 Rivers 6 Maritime claims 7 Natural resources 8 Environment 9 Extreme points 10 See also

[edit] Terrain

The northern third of the country lies in the North European Plain, with flat terrain crossed by northward-flowing watercourses (Elbe, Ems, Weser, Oder). Wetlands and marshy conditions are found close to the Dutch border and along the Frisian coast. Sandy Mecklenburg in the northeast has many glacier-formed lakes dating to the last ice age.

Moving south, central Germany features rough and somewhat unpatterned hilly and mountainous countryside, some of it formed by ancient volcanic activity. The Rhine valley cuts through the western part of this region. The central uplands continue east and north as far as the Saale and merge with the Ore Mountains on the border with the Czech Republic. Upland regions include the Eifel and Hunsrück west of the Rhine, the Taunus hills north of Frankfurt, the Vogelsberghi massif, the Rhön, and the Thüringer Wald. South of Berlin, the east-central part of the country is more like the low northern areas, with sandy soil and river wetlands such as the Spreewald region.

Southern Germany's landforms are defined by various linear hill and mountain ranges. The Alps on the southern border are the largest, but relatively little Alpine terrain lies within Germany compared with Switzerland and Austria. The Black Forest, on the southwestern border with France, separates the Rhine from the headwaters of the Danube on its eastern slopes.

The Danube cuts across central Bavaria, relatively flat land, before curving to the southeast around the southern tip of the Bavarian Forest — another range on the border between Bavaria and the Czech Republic.

[edit] Climate

Germany's climate is temperate and marine, with cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers and in the south occasional warm föhn wind. The greater part of Germany lies in the cool/temperate climatic zone in which humid westerly winds predominate. In the north-west and the north the climate is extremely oceanic and rain falls all the year round. Winters there are relatively mild and summers comparatively cool. In the east the climate shows clear continental features; winters can be very cold for long periods, and summers can become very warm. Here too, long dry periods are often recorded. In the centre and the south there is a transitional climate which may be predominantly oceanic or continental, according to the general weather situation.

[edit] Land use

Germany covers a total of 357,021 km², of which 4,750 km² is irrigated land and 7,798 km² is covered by water, the largest lakes being Lake Constance (total area of 536 km², with 62% of the shore being German; international borders are not defined on the lake itself), Müritz (117 km²) and Chiemsee (80 km²). The majority of Germany is covered by either arable land (33%) or forestry and woodland (31%). Only 15% is covered by permanent pastures.

Germany has a total of 2,389 km of coastline, and borders totalling 3,621 km (clockwise from north: Denmark 68 km, Poland 456 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Austria 784 km, Switzerland 334 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Belgium 167 km, Netherlands 577 km). The German-Austrian border crosses itself near Jungholz.

[edit] Caves

Throught the Karst rocks many caves were built especially in the valley of the Hönne. The biggest culture cave of Europe is located in Balve.

[edit] Rivers

The three main rivers in Germany are the Rhine (Rhein in German) with a German part of 865 km (main tributaries including the Neckar, the Main and the Moselle (Mosel)), the Elbe with a German part of 727 km (also drains into the North Sea), and the Danube (Donau) with a German part of 687 km. Further important rivers include the Weser River and the Ems. See also the list of rivers in Germany.

[edit] Maritime claims

• Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
• Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm. The exact EEZ is due to conventions with neighbouring states.
• Territorial sea: 12 nm

[edit] Natural resources

• Iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land, water

[edit] Environment

Current issues

• Emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulphur 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 (under Chancellor Schröder, SPD) announced intent to end the use of nuclear power for producing electricity; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive.

International agreements

• Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
• Signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Natural hazards

• Flooding

[edit] Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of Germany, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

• northernmost point: List, Sylt, Schleswig-Holstein
• southernmost point: Oberstdorf, Bavaria
• westernmost point: Isenbruch, near Millen, North Rhine-Westphalia
• easternmost point: Deschka, Saxony

The northernmost point in mainland Germany lies near Aventoft, Schleswig-Holstein

The extreme points of the German Confederation are mentioned in the first stanza of Das Lied der Deutschen, of which the third stanza is today the national anthem of Germany. They were accurate when the song was penned in 1841, but are no longer accurate today. The limits mentioned are the following rivers:

• Maas which crosses France, Belgium and the Netherlands and formed the border of the Duchy of Limburg, then part of the German Confederation and today the Dutch Province of Limburg.

• Memel, which runs through Belarus and Lithuania but previously formed part of the border of East Prussia

• Etsch, beginning in German-speaking South Tyrol (then in Austria) which was transferred from the Habsburg Empire to Italy after World War I

• and the Belt which is a part of the Baltic Sea between Germany and Denmark.

Elevation extremes

• lowest point: Wilstermarsch (near Itzehoe) - 3.5 m below sea level
• highest point: Zugspitze (in the Bavarian Alps, on the Austrian border) - 2,962 m

[edit] See also

• Germany
• National parks (Germany)
• Geography of Europe
• Administrative Divisions of Germany