The Vogelsberg Mountains are a group duct of ancient volcanic activity and are separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda River and its valley.
Arising approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsberg, Germany's only shield volcano, is also Central Europe's largest basalt formation, consisting of a multitude of layers which, having flowed over each other, fall downward from their peak in ring-shaped terraces to the base.
The main peaks of the Vogelsberg are Taufstein, 773 m (2,536 ft), and Hoherodskopf, 763 m (2,503 ft), both now enclosed in a nature park, the Hoher Vogelsberg Nature Park.
Vogelsberg is German for bird's mountain, making the name "Vogelsberg Mountains" a redundancy.
In recent years the Eurasian Lynx returned. There are rumors about wolves being sighted in the region. Sightings have been confirmed in an area north of the Vogelsberg. Also wildcats are said to exist in the region, although they, like lynxes, are notoriously hard to spot.
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