| Vogelsberg | |
|---|---|
 Overview map of the Vogelsberg | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Taufstein |
| Elevation | 773 m above NHN |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 60 km (37 mi) |
| Area | 2,500 km2 (970 sq mi) |
| Geography | |
| State(s) | Counties ofVogelsbergkreis,Main-Kinzig-Kreis,Wetteraukreis,Gießen andFulda;Hesse,Germany |
| Range coordinates | 50°32′00″N9°14′00″E / 50.533333°N 9.233333°E /50.533333; 9.233333 |
| Parent range | East Hesse Highlands |
| Geology | |
| Orogenies | Lowmountains, extinctvolcanoes |
| Rock type | Basalt |
TheVogelsberg (German pronunciation:[ˈfoːɡl̩sˌbɛʁk]ⓘ) is a large volcanic mountain range in the GermanCentral Uplands in the state ofHesse, separated from theRhön Mountains by theFulda river valley.Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsberg is Central Europe's largestbasalt formation, consisting of a multitude of layers that descend from their peak in ring-shaped terraces to the base.
The main peaks of the Vogelsberg are theTaufstein, 773.0 metres (2,536.1 ft),[1] andHoherodskopf, 763 metres (2,503 ft), both now within theHigh Vogelsberg Nature Park.
The Vogelsberg lies in the county ofVogelsbergkreis, around 60 kilometres northeast ofFrankfurt between the towns ofAlsfeld,Fulda,Büdingen andNidda. To the northeast is theKnüll, to the east theRhön, to the southeast theSpessart and to the southwest the low-lyingWetterau, which transitions to the South Hessian lowlands of theRhine-Main region. In the opposite direction, to the northwest, the Vogelsberg transitions into parts of theWest Hesse Highlands, whilst retaining the name, Vogelsberg, and the basalt rocks that bear its name continue well beyond the actual Vogelsberg.
The Vogelsberg is the largest contiguous volcanic region inCentral Europe with an area of 2,500 square kilometres.[2] It is not a formershield volcano, but comprises many individual volcanoes, which are superimposed. Thus it consists of a multitude of overlapping basalt terraces, which descend from theOberwald, the high central plateau, 600 to 773 metres high, in series of stepped rings to the edges of the mountain region. Its present appearance, which is reminiscent of a large flat, shield-shaped volcano with a central dome, is the result of an interplay ofuplift processes andablation acting on all sides.
The volcanic activity in the Vogelsberg, as well as that of the North Hessian Volcanic Region to the north which extends as far asAdelebsen inLower Saxony, is connected withfault block activity that, during theTertiary, led to the formation of theLower Hessian Basin. It began in North Hesse about 20 million years ago during the lowerMiocene, reached a peak about 13-12 million years ago and came to an end about 7 million years ago, during the upper Miocene. The volcanism of the Vogelsberg was mainly active during the Middle Miocene, according topotassium-argon dating 18.5-10 million years ago, reaching its peak 17-15 million years ago.
As a result ofvolcanic activity, mainly basalticlava andpyroclastic deposits were formed. During the course of this volcanicity,trachyte andphonolite were produced in the early stages, then alkali-olivinebasalts were deposited, which alternated withtholeiites. These volcanic products overlaid a basement ofbunter sandstone and tertiary sands, in small areas in the east also rocks of themuschelkalk andkeuper.
Erosion following the Miocene wore away the contiguous basalt nappes, which originally reached as far as the area of theLower Main, back to isolated deposits in the central complex. Undertropical tosubtropical conditions, the volcanic rocks were turned into redclays bylateriticweathering. In many places, red clays collected andbauxite was formed; moreover, the iron contained in basalt was concentrated to formiron ore. These deposits were mined over a long period of time in order to produce raw materials for industry, and the basalt was and still is a highly popular raw material forgravel andnatural stone production.
The division of the Vogelsberg into individualnatural regions[3] is based, on the one hand, on therelief of the mountain range from its highest point towards the outside and, on the other hand, on its river catchments which radiate outwards: the catchments of theEder (Schwalm), LowerFulda (Schlitz andLüder),Main (Kinzig andNidda) andLahn (Ohm).
The following natural regions form the Vogelsberg:
Soils and rocks are, in all parts of the Vogelsberg – with the exception of the Giesel Forest – similar, but average annual temperatures drop noticeably towards the centre of the range (varying by up to 5 K) and the annual precipitation rises towards the Oberwald to an average of 1,200 mm.
Thebasalt areas of the Vogelsberg continue towards the east and north into its neighbouring natural regions, whilst the Giesel Forest in the east is already onbunter sandstone, like the rest of the natural regions towards the east.[4]
The Vogelsberg massif hasstone runs of basalt andtuff,raised bogs and areas of ancient woodland. Numeroushiking trails cross, not only the Oberwald, but also the rest of the area.
TheOberwald (351.2) is the heart of the Vogelsberg and is entirely wooded; its outer boundary roughly follows the 600 metrecontour line. In outer areas of the Vogelsberg, by contrast, there is a tapestry of green pasture, arable fields and woodlands.
Large parts of the Oberwald are protected. For example, thebeech wood in theTaufstein Nature Reserve has been left to manage itself since 1906.
On the northern slopes of the Taufstein are largestone runs of basalt.
The valleys of the Western (351.0) and Eastern (351.1) High Vogelsberg generally lie at heights of over 500 m in the north. In the west, some descend to under 400 m. In the main, the boundaries follow thewatersheds of the source region of the most important rivers and especially that of theRhine-Weser watershed, which runs from southeast to northwest, and theLahn-Main watershed which heads east.
Because large areas of the original forest were cleared and the precipitation exceeds 1,000 mm per year,snow melt starts early. This and the less porous basalt loam soil frequently leads to flooding.[3]
In this part of the Vogelsberg, the scenery changes in loose succession from woodlands, rich in springs, wetlands, poor grassland and stream valleys; besides there are also a raised bog and, in the southeast a number of waterbodies, the Vogelsberg Lakes (Vogelsberger Seen).
The basaltic parts of the Lower Vogelsberg (350.1-350.5) range in height between 300 and 500 m, except on the western to southwestern fringes by theWetterau where they descend below 200 m in places.
Its boundary with theBüdingen Forest to the south, with theLandrücken to the southeast and with the Giesel Forest (see below) to the east is less of a relief feature than the geological transition from basalt to bunter sandstone.
There is also this geological divide with theFulda-Haune Tableland, which lies in front of theKnüll to the northeast. Between them is theGroßenlüder-Lauterbacher Graben. By contrast, in the north, the vulcanite does not end until it reaches the adjacentNorth Vogelsberg Foreland, i.e. outside the actual Vogelsberg. Even theAnterior Vogelsberg which lies outside the latter region still has large areas of basaltic rock. To the west the basalt zone reaches far into the gently rolling lowlands of theWetterau, this depression lies alongside the middle and lower reaches of theHorloff river.
From a natural landscape perspective, the region is an island of forest comprisingmelic grasses andbeech.[3]
In the Giesel Forest (350.6), which covers an area of 130 km2,[5] the Vogelsberg pushes eastwards at heights of up to over 500 m to the edge of the Fulda Basin. From a natural region perspective, the only bunter sandstone part of the Vogelsberg is clearly separated from the basaltic areas of the Lower Vogelsberg.
In addition to the woods that cover almost the entire natural region (includingpine forests) there are extensive vegetation-free areas by the huge spoil tips of the potassium salt mine near Neuhof.[3]
The following table lists the natural regions from the centre outwards and then in clockwise order.
| Designated number | Name | Area [km2][3] | Rivers | High points with metres (m) abovesea level (NHN) (from[1] unless otherwise stated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 351.2 | Oberwald | 37.02 | Only the rivers rising in the centre: |
|
| 351.1 | Eastern High Vogelsberg | 153.72 |
|
|
| 351.0 | Western High Vogelsberg | 136.47 |
| |
| 350.5 | Southern Lower Vogelsberg | 259.32 |
| |
| 350.4 | Western Lower Vogelsberg | 387.72 |
|
|
| 350.2 | Northwestern Lower Vogelsberg | 154.63 |
| |
| 350.1 | Northern Lower Vogelsberg | 69.61 |
| |
| 350.3 | Eastern Lower Vogelsberg | 245.32 |
| |
| 350.6 | Giesel Forest | 128.96 |
|
|
Not only does a section of theRhine-Weser watershed run over the Vogelsberg, but also (within theWeser andFulda systems) the watersheds between theEder andSchwalm and Lower Fulda as well as (within theRhine basin) that between theMain and theLahn.
Groundwater andspring water from the Vogelsberg, along with water from the demSpessart hills andHessian Ried providesdrinking water for theRhine-Main region. As early as 1876 were springs in the eastern Vogelsberg enclosed for that purpose and the construction ofwater pipes from the Spessart and the Vogelsberg to the city ofFrankfurt. A lack of understanding of the particular hydrogeological and ecological situation in the Vogelsberg and excessive withdrawal resulted in springs drying up, cracks appearing in buildings and subsidence of the ground. The Upper Hessian Water Companies (Oberhessischen Versorgungsbetriebe AG, OVAG) are the largest water suppliers in the Vogelsberg: they pump out around 30 million cubic metres ofground water annually from their wells; about 2/3 goes to the city of Frankfurt in the Rhine-Main region.
Numerous rivers and streams rise in the Vogelsberg, and flow radially from its highest point in all directions of the compass. In clockwise order, the rivers of the main catchments are the Schwalm, Lower Fulda, Kinzig, Nidda and Ohm. Often a well known river is fed by several almost equal tributaries.
The main rivers of the Vogelsberg, in clockwise order starting in the north, are:
In the Vogelsberg the following lengths are misleading, however:
Among thewaterbodies of the Vogelsbergs are the following lakes and reservoirs (sorted alphabetically):
In recent years theEurasian lynx has returned. There are rumors about wolves being sighted in the region. Sightings have been confirmed in an area north of the Vogelsberg. Wildcats are also said to exist in the region, although they, like lynxes, are notoriously hard to spot. As in most of Hesse, wild boar are present in large numbers.
The Vogelsberg is known for itswinter sports areas on theHerchenhainer Höhe andHoherodskopf (Alpine skiing and 55 km ofloipes).
In summer, apart fromhiking,cycling is well catered for on the numerouslong-distance cycling routes such as theVolcano Cycleway (Vulkanradweg,Vogelsberg Southern Railway Cycleway (Vogelsberger Südbahnradweg ...). Moreover, there are regularRMV buses, the so-called Vulkan Express running fromBüdingen,Stockheim,Nidda,Hungen,Mücke andSchlitz viaLauterbach at weekends to the heights of the Vogelsberg. These buses are equipped with bicycle trailers. The majority of bus routes run to theHoherodskopf and so may be used in combination.
The Volcano and Southern Railway Cycleways are tarmacked and may also be used byinline skaters. There is a large network of signposted cycleways in and around the Vogelsberg Nature Fitness Park around the highest summits and also 70 km of signedmountain bike routes.
The Hoherodskopf is the touristic centre of the region. Here you will find the Nature Conservation Information Centre for theHigh Vogelsberg Nature Park and a tourist information centre for the town ofSchotten, which are open daily all year-round. From this point, three nature trails have been set up, covering in the fields of geology, nature and sensory perception.[7] There is a summer toboggan run, atree ropes course, numerous hiking trails and several restaurants.
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