TheWestphalian Lowland,[1] also known as theWestphalian Basin[2] is a flat landscape that mainly lies within the German region ofWestphalia, although small areas also fall withinNorth Rhine (in the extreme southwest) and inLower Saxony (on the northern periphery). Together with the neighbouringLower Rhine Plain to the west, it represents the second most southerly region of theNorth German Plain, after theCologne Bight. It is variously known in German as theWestfälische Bucht (Westphalian Bay), theMünsterländer orWestfälische Tieflands- orFlachlandsbucht (Münsterland or Westphalian Lowland or Plain).
The Westphalian Lowland consists of the individual regions ofMünsterland, theEmscherland in the (western) south, and regions even further south that flank theSauerland around theHellweg.
The Westphalian Lowland is classified as a major unit group within thenatural regions of Germany and is number54 in theHandbook of the Natural Regional Divisions of Germany (Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands) and regionD34 in theBfN system; both using the same boundaries.
From a natural region perspective the Westphalian Lowland major unit group is sub-divided into the following three-figuremajor units:[3][4]
The Westphalian Lowland has the character of abasin because it is bounded by ridges of theLower Saxon Hills from the northeast to east and by the northern part of theSüder Uplands to the south. These hills rise to heights of several hundred metres above the basin floor.
The boundary of this natural region runs, clockwise from the north, as follows:FromRheine southeastwards along the southern edge of theTeutoburg Forest, from southwest of Osnabrück heading southwest of Bielefeld to the point where the Teutoburg Forest meets theEggegebirge. From here the boundary runs to thePaderborn Plateau in front of the Egge heading south-southwest viaPaderborn andBüren.
From east ofRüthen its boundary with theNorth Sauerland Oberland (including theArnsberg Forest Nature Park) runs in a westerly direction, passing theMöhnesee immediately south of theHaarstrang and then runs south of theHellweg to the edge of the LowerSauerland to south ofDortmund, from where its course takes it further west, north of theArdey Hills and the adjoining parts of the Lower Berg-Mark Hills (Niederbergisch-Märkisches Hügelland) heading south ofBochum andEssen to the vicinity ofMülheim.
From east of Mülheim its unremarkable boundary with theLower Rhine Plain runs northwards viaBottrop,Dorsten,Borken and finally along the state border with theNetherlands, toGronau.[5]
The largest centres of population in the Westphalian Lowland are the cities of the central and easternRuhrgebiet north of the River Ruhr in the southwest of the region and the cities of Münster in the centre, Gütersloh in the north and Paderborn on the eastern periphery. The city centre of Bielefeld lies outside the region on the other side of the Teutoburg Forest; however some neighbourhoods of the city (Brackwede, Quelle, Senne, Sennestadt) lie within the northern part of the basin.
The most populous cities in the Westphalian Lowland are (in brackets their population in thousands):
The most important river systems are:
The area is occasionally called in German, theMünsterländische Bucht (Münsterland Bay), because a large part of this low-lying plain lies in central and easternMünsterland. It is therefore usedpars pro toto for the whole region.
The use of the termBucht ("bay" or "bight") stems from the geological origin of the region which is half surrounded by the ridges of theCentral Uplands. At one time it formed a bay in the coastline of theCretaceous Sea the shape of which can be discerned from the topography.
The majority of the population of the Westphalian Lowland live in the area bordering the southern perimeter, in the region of the historicHellweg east–west trade route through Germany, and especially in the northernRuhr.
At various sites in the Westphalian Lowlandgiant ammonites have been found in Cretaceous layers of rock below the surface, for example when theunderground railway network was being built inDortmund. Thesecephalopods, with a shell diameter of more than two metres are the largest knowninvertebrates.
51°57′46″N7°37′43″E / 51.9629°N 7.6287°E /51.9629; 7.6287
