Göttingen Forest
Encyclopedia
The Göttingen Forest is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands
that is up to 427.5 metres high. It forms part of the Lower Saxon Hills
in South Lower Saxony
.
, which is in turn part of the Lower Saxon Hills. It lies in the district of Göttingen east of the city of Göttingen
itself, immediately south of the Nörten Forest, west of the Untereichsfeld and north of the Reinhausen Forest with its twin peaks, Die Gleichen
. The Göttingen Forest, Nörten Forest and Reinhausen Forest each form part of the Göttingen-Northeim Forest. Several kilometres to the northeast is the ridge of Rotenberg and, beyond that, the Harz Mountains. Northwest of the Göttingen Forest is the Bovenden
, north-northwest is Nörten-Hardenberg
, to the north is Billingshausen, northeast is Ebergötzen
, east is Landolfshausen
, southeast is Gleichen
and southwest and west is the city of Göttingen. The Göttingen Forest lies south of the Rodebach valley, a few kilometres west of the Seeburger See
lake, north of the valleys of the Garte
and Bramke and several kilometres east of that of the River Leine.
The Göttingen Forest is bounded to the north, east and south predominantly by steep hillsides. The exact boundary of the forest is, however, not always uniformly defined. For example, on the one hand, many define it in a narrow sense as only that part south of the B 27 excluding the Plessforst, on the other hand, others refer to the climbing region of Göttingen Forest, an area also including those woods to the north, east and south.
of the Göttingen Forest area is mainly made up of layers of middle Triassic
Muschelkalk
. In the incisions made by the Lutter and Braten valleys there are deposits from the Pleistocene
and Holocene
epochs. The largest and highest-lying part of the forest, namely the plateau-like areas of the northern Plessforst from the Hünstollen to Plesse Castle
and the eastern part from the Lengderburg in the south via the Mackenröder Spitze
to the Södderich, are characterised by layers of Lower Muschelkalk, whilst Trochitenkalk and Ceratite layers of the Upper Muschelkalk are the predominant formations found in the central and western part of the forest that has undergone greater movement. Middle Muschelkalk is found in the transition areas. In the Lange Nacht region and the adjacent slopes of the Kleper there is an elongated trough of upper Triassic Keuper
, and individual pockets of the Lower Keuper are also found in the southern part of the Göttingen Forest. To the north, east and south, regions of sandstone
border on the forest. In the west there are Pleistocene
silts and finally the Holocene
water meadow loam
of the Leine valley. Many old quarries are located in the Trochitenkalk and Lower Muschelkalk in which limestone
, the main building material for nearby settlements, was obtained. By contrast, the more thinly bedded and very brittle layers were just used as hard core for road building or to reinforce dirt tracks. The limestone areas of the Lower and Upper Muschelkalk are mostly covered with just a thin layer of humus which, even when weathered, do not support very fertile agricultural soils. Settlements were therefore established almost entirely in the areas where Middle Muschelkalk occurs which is also where several small springs rise.
In the lower Triassic Bunter Sandstone region of the Reinhausen Forest to the south there is the largest abri group
(rock overhangs caused by erosion) in Central Europe. They are often found in the narrowest part of the ravine-like rocky valleys between the River Leine and the Eichsfeld. In a region of around 30 by 6-10 kilometres there are today around 1600 abris. The sandstone in this area has been quarried for a long time.
Central Uplands
The Central Uplands is one of the three major natural regions of Germany and covers most of the land area of the country. To the north lies the North German Plain or Northern Lowland; to the south, the Alps and the Alpine Foreland.- Formation :...
that is up to 427.5 metres high. It forms part of the Lower Saxon Hills
Lower Saxon Hills
The Lower Saxon Hills are one the 73 natural regions in Germany defined by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation . Geographically it covers roughly the same area as the Weser Uplands in its wider sense....
in South Lower Saxony
South Lower Saxony
South Lower Saxony refers to the southern part of the German federal state of Lower Saxony. The region so described is neither historically nor geographically clearly defined to the north within Lower Saxony...
.
Geography
The Göttingen Forest, which is divided into numerous separate woods, is found in the south of the Leine UplandsLeine Uplands
The Leine Uplands is a region in Germany's Central Uplands which forms a part of the Lower Saxon Hills and lies along the River Leine between Göttingen and Hanover...
, which is in turn part of the Lower Saxon Hills. It lies in the district of Göttingen east of the city of Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
itself, immediately south of the Nörten Forest, west of the Untereichsfeld and north of the Reinhausen Forest with its twin peaks, Die Gleichen
Die Gleichen
Die Gleichen are a pair of hills, up to 430 metres high, in the district of Göttingen in South Lower Saxony in Germany.The twin hills, that were once the site of two fortifications, gave their name to the village of Gleichen.- Geography :...
. The Göttingen Forest, Nörten Forest and Reinhausen Forest each form part of the Göttingen-Northeim Forest. Several kilometres to the northeast is the ridge of Rotenberg and, beyond that, the Harz Mountains. Northwest of the Göttingen Forest is the Bovenden
Bovenden
Bovenden is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approx. 6 km north of Göttingen.-External links:*...
, north-northwest is Nörten-Hardenberg
Nörten-Hardenberg
Nörten-Hardenberg is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approx. 10 km southwest of Northeim, and 10 km north of Göttingen.- References :...
, to the north is Billingshausen, northeast is Ebergötzen
Ebergötzen
Ebergötzen is a village in the District of Göttingen in Germany in Lower Saxony. It is 15 km from Göttingen and belongs to the Samtgemeinde Radolfshausen...
, east is Landolfshausen
Landolfshausen
Landolfshausen is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-See also:*Falkenhagen-External links:* *...
, southeast is Gleichen
Gleichen
Gleichen is the name of two groups of castles in Germany, thus named from their resemblance to each other .- Castles in Thuringia between Gotha and Erfurt :...
and southwest and west is the city of Göttingen. The Göttingen Forest lies south of the Rodebach valley, a few kilometres west of the Seeburger See
Seeburger See
Seeburger See is a lake in the karst region of Lower Eichsfeld, Landkreis Göttingen, in southeastern Lower Saxony, Germany.Also known as the Auge des Eichsfelds der grosser See bei Bernshausen , the shallow 86.5-hectare lake is fed in the west by the Aue creek at Seeburg and drained to the east...
lake, north of the valleys of the Garte
Garte
The Garte is a small tributary to the Leine River in Lower Saxony, Germany.The Garte is a 23 km long stream that rises to the east of Weißenborn at an elevation of 303 m amsl...
and Bramke and several kilometres east of that of the River Leine.
The Göttingen Forest is bounded to the north, east and south predominantly by steep hillsides. The exact boundary of the forest is, however, not always uniformly defined. For example, on the one hand, many define it in a narrow sense as only that part south of the B 27 excluding the Plessforst, on the other hand, others refer to the climbing region of Göttingen Forest, an area also including those woods to the north, east and south.
Geology
The bedrockBedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
of the Göttingen Forest area is mainly made up of layers of middle Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
Muschelkalk
Muschelkalk
The Muschelkalk is a sequence of sedimentary rock strata in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic age and forms the middle part of the Germanic Trias, that further consists of the Buntsandstein and Keuper...
. In the incisions made by the Lutter and Braten valleys there are deposits from the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
and Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
epochs. The largest and highest-lying part of the forest, namely the plateau-like areas of the northern Plessforst from the Hünstollen to Plesse Castle
Plesse Castle
Plesse Castle is situated to the north of Göttingen in Germany, close to the village of Bovenden.The castle was transferred in 1015 from the private estate of Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn to the city of Paderborn. Since 1150 it is the seat of the noble lords of Plesse, who named themselves for the...
and the eastern part from the Lengderburg in the south via the Mackenröder Spitze
Mackenröder Spitze
The Mackenröder Spitze, at about , is the highest hill in the Göttingen Forest and lies on the boundary of the town and district of Göttingen, in South Lower Saxony in Germany.- Geography :...
to the Södderich, are characterised by layers of Lower Muschelkalk, whilst Trochitenkalk and Ceratite layers of the Upper Muschelkalk are the predominant formations found in the central and western part of the forest that has undergone greater movement. Middle Muschelkalk is found in the transition areas. In the Lange Nacht region and the adjacent slopes of the Kleper there is an elongated trough of upper Triassic Keuper
Keuper
The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolostone, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late Triassic epochs...
, and individual pockets of the Lower Keuper are also found in the southern part of the Göttingen Forest. To the north, east and south, regions of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
border on the forest. In the west there are Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
silts and finally the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
water meadow loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
of the Leine valley. Many old quarries are located in the Trochitenkalk and Lower Muschelkalk in which limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, the main building material for nearby settlements, was obtained. By contrast, the more thinly bedded and very brittle layers were just used as hard core for road building or to reinforce dirt tracks. The limestone areas of the Lower and Upper Muschelkalk are mostly covered with just a thin layer of humus which, even when weathered, do not support very fertile agricultural soils. Settlements were therefore established almost entirely in the areas where Middle Muschelkalk occurs which is also where several small springs rise.
In the lower Triassic Bunter Sandstone region of the Reinhausen Forest to the south there is the largest abri group
Rock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
(rock overhangs caused by erosion) in Central Europe. They are often found in the narrowest part of the ravine-like rocky valleys between the River Leine and the Eichsfeld. In a region of around 30 by 6-10 kilometres there are today around 1600 abris. The sandstone in this area has been quarried for a long time.
Hills
The hills and high points of the Göttingen Forest include:
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Sources
- Ulrich Nagel und Hans-Georg Wunderlich: Geologisches Blockbild der Umgebung von Göttingen (publications by the Lower Saxon Institute for Geography and Regional Development, Series A, Vol. 91, 2nd ed.), 50 pp. + enclosures, Göttingen, 1976