Landscapes and Landforms of Germany

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

2. The Development of Landscapes in Germany—An Introduction

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 1. The Development of Landscapes in Germany

      • Open Access

      Frank Lehmkuhl, Wolfgang Römer

      Abstract

      The landscapes of Germany cover a wide range of diverse landform assemblages which evolved due to differences in environmental and geological boundary conditions and Quaternary glacial and periglacial processes. These are listed from north to south in: (I and II) The Northern Lowlands with its young and old glacial landforms and coastal areas, (III) The Central Uplands, (IV) The Rhine Rift Valley and the South German Scarplands, and (V and VI) The area of the Alpine Foreland and the Alps. The Northern Lowlands are built of Quaternary deposits including Pleistocene glacial and fluvialglacial deposits, aeolian sands and loess deposits and Holocene alluvial and colluvial deposits, mires and marshes, barrier islands and the tidal flats of the wadden sea. the landforms of the Central Uplands have developed in a complex lithological and structural setting, which results from different phases of sedimentation and tectonic deformation from the early Palaeozoic to the Quaternary. In the southwest, the Mesozoic rocks of the Central Uplands dip below the Cenozoic rocks of the Alpine Foreland which is covered by Cenozoic sediments ranging in age from the Paleogene to the Quaternary. The Quaternary is characterized mostly by glacial and fluvioglacial deposits. In this area the contact of the horizontal and the upfolded Cenozoic Molasse sediments marks the tectonic transition to the Alps. The southernmost part of Germany includes the Northern Calcareous Alps. Examples from all regions are given in the following chapters of this book.

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3. The North German Lowlands

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 2. Geomorphologies of the German North Sea Coast

      Hanna Hadler, Friederike Bungenstock, Andreas Vött

      Abstract

      The North Sea coast is one of the most recent landscapes in Germany. With its great variety of landforms—ranging from the barrier islands of East Frisia, through the large estuaries of the Inner German Bight, to the prograding marshland coasts of Dithmarschen and the strongly eroded and ruined coastal zone of the North Frisian Islands with both sand and hard rock cores—it has only been formed during the past 7000 years or so. The Wadden Sea acts as a unifying element along the entire coast and represents a unique natural and cultural heritage. This chapter first provides an introduction to the overall geological and geomorphological formation of the coast and then presents examples of intense human–environment interactions that have been responsible for the development of a rich cultural landscape. The role of extreme storm events which, especially during medieval times affected many parts or the intensively used coasts, causing long-term damage and loss of land and largely controlling the overall geomorphological setting. Since its colonisation the cultural landscape of the German North Sea coast has the experienced an increasing vulnerability, both due to increasing massive anthropogenic impacts and growing effects of climate change. It is certainly one of the most endangered landscapes in Germany and has literally always been on the edge of the habitable world.

   3. Chapter 3. The Geomorphology of Rügen Island (NE Germany) as a Key to Understanding a Variety of Land Systems, Glacial and Coastal Processes

      Anna Gehrmann, Gösta Hoffmann

      Abstract

      The Isle of Rügen provides challenges related to the sequence of glaciations and deglaciations across the entire island affected by the southern Scandinavian Ice Sheet margin during the late Weichselian glaciation. This includes the chronology of till and interbedded sediment deposition, as well as glacitectonic deformation, and the post-glacial landscape evolution. The geomorphology visible in the digital elevation model is an excellent geo-archive. The main feature of the striking terminal moraines on Rügen’s northeastern peninsula Jasmund is represented by two differently orientated composite ridge sets indicating a multi-stage glacitectonic deformation. For the first time, we describe megascale glacial lineations for the northwestern part of Rügen’s mainland. Their NE-SW orientation indicates an identically orientated glacier flow. In other parts of the island, glacier sliding and pushing, melt-out, and meltwater drainage had a strong geomorphic impact and created a system of ice-marginal moraines, cupola hills, drumlinized beds, and eskers. The coastline of Rügen represents a paraglacial setting, as of a barrier-lagoon system. Barrier spits cut off lagoons from the open sea. The Holocene evolution of such barrier systems along the southern Baltic Sea coast is a consequence of several factors. First and foremost, it is a direct function of the sea-level development.

   4. Chapter 4. Geomorphology of Schleswig–Holstein

      Christian Stolz

      Abstract

      The northernmost German state of Schleswig–Holstein is predominantly characterized by Quaternary deposits. Older formations occur only in a few places. While the Weichselian ice advances covered only the eastern part (eastern uplands), the Saalian glaciations covered almost the entire recent land surface. A flat-wavy terminal moraine landscape is preserved from the Saale Glaciation (Hohe Geest), surrounded by the meltwater deposits of the Weichsel Glaciation (Niedere Geest). The Baltic Sea coast, shaped by young glacial deposits, has different coastal forms: lowland fjords in the north, partly with graded shorelines, and a bay coast in the southeast. In the interior of Schleswig–Holstein, glacial and glacifluvial deposits are partly overlain by peat bogs and aeolian sands, some of which have grown into inland dune fields. Reactivations and new dune formations due to anthropogenic land use could be proven. Typical anthropogenic landforms are hedge rows (“knicks”), prehistoric megalithic tombs, medieval ramparts, such as the Danewerk, and mostly post-war gravel pits.

   5. Chapter 5. Formation and Destruction of the East Frisian Raised-Bog Landscapes

      Karl-Ernst Behre

      Abstract

      Large parts of East Frisia were once covered by ombrotrophic (rain-fed) raised bogs which began to develop in the early Atlantic period (early mid-post-glacial). These bogs replaced the preceding forests and also covered prehistoric settlements. They continued to grow vertically and spread laterally until they were reclaimed and cultivated from the Middle Ages onwards. Starting at the margins, peat cutting and reclamation began in the tenth/eleventh centuries AD. In the mid-eighteenth century systematic colonisation of the main bogs began, mostly combined with bog burning. A special East Frisian feature is the so-called Fehn-colonies, i.e. long settlement rows along canals, where peat was cut for fuel for the towns around. In recent times, a new form of bog utilisation was initiated whereby uncut raised bog was brought into agricultural use with the help of artificial fertilizer and some drainage. After peat cutting as a source of fuel for domestic and industrial use ceased in the later twentieth century, the uppermost poorly decomposed peat layers were cut for use in horticulture (plant potting, etc.). In recent years, much effort has been expended in restoring the surviving remnants of raised bog and give them protection within nature reserves.

   6. Chapter 6. Landscapes in the Area of the Harburg Hills (Harburger Berge in Hamburg and Lower Saxony, Northern Germany)

      Alf Grube

      Abstract

      South of the Elbe river in the vicinity of the metropol region Hamburg very different landscapes are present that have undergone a complex geological development. Of the three formerly existing geest areas (Saalian landscapes, ca. 200,000 to 130,000 years B.P.), only two have been preserved, whereas one was eroded by meltwater at the end or during the Weichselian glaciation period. The areas presented in this chapter are the Harburg Hills (Harburger Berge), the areas west of the Harburg Hills, and the Elbe Valley, resp. the Elbe spillway. Differences regarding geomorphology, geological development and periglacial shaping, as well as their impact on land use in these areas are discussed. Examples of underground use of resources are the historical mining of lignite, and the use of caverns for the storage of gas etc. within deep salt diapir bodies.

   7. Chapter 7. The Schorfheide-Chorin Area—A Textbook Example of a Glacially Shaped Landscape in NE Germany

      Christopher Lüthgens

      Abstract

      The Schorfheide-Chorin area NE of Berlin is among the areas showing the clearest and most prominent glacially shaped landscapes associated with the last glacial cycle in northern Germany. It is an area with a long-lasting research history starting in the late nineteenth century. Even more so, it is still relevant in science in general, and specifically paleo-glacial and paleo-environmental research continues today. This chapter provides a summary of the geomorphological record of landforms and processes, which formed it and may serve as an entry-point for more detailed investigations of the key topics still under investigation today. In addition, it provides coordinates and descriptions of selected key sites for becoming acquainted with the landscape record of the area, ranging from subglacially formed till plains and drumlinoid elevations to prominent terminal moraines and a complex system of outwash plains intersected with different discharge levels in the adjacent ice-marginal valley, numerous glacially shaped lakes and finally, landforms associated with the melting of dead ice and transformation of the landscape under periglacial climate conditions, including intense aeolian processes.

   8. Chapter 8. The Geomorphology of the City of Berlin

      Jacob Hardt

      Abstract

      Berlin has been built on three main geomorphological units, the Barnim Plateau to the north, the Warszaw-Berlin ice-marginal valley in the middle, and the Teltow Plateau to the south. All these units have their own characteristics, which influence the cityscape. Much of the surface was shaped by glacial and glaciofluvial processes of the Weichselian glaciation, but also aeolian and Holocene fluvial processes had their large contributions. Some landforms have become iconic and are unmistakably associated with the city, such as the Kreuzberg, the Müggelberge, and the meanders of the Spree River. Despite the high construction density, the analysis of laser scan-based digital elevation models helps to reveal obscured landforms that are witnesses of the glacial and postglacial history of the region. This article lays out the general geological, geochronological, and geomorphological framework of the city area and then highlights several exemplary landscape features, of which some seem not to have been reported before. As such, arcuate ridge structures that were formed at a downwasting Weichselian ice margin can be found within the city limits on the Barnim Plateau. The Teltow Plateau is characterized by mega-scale glacial lineations, indicative of fast flowing ice streams. Surface cracks, surface expansion ruptures due to ice-sheet-induced loading- and unloading processes of subsurface Permian salt structures, can be found within and just beyond the city limits. Notwithstanding the comparably low relief energy within the city area of less than 100 m, this chapter exemplifies the high geomorphological diversity of the young morainic landscapes in northern middle Europe.

   9. Chapter 9. The Ground Failure Moraine Muskau Arch (Muskauer Faltenbogen): A Special Kind of a Glaciotectonic Composite Ridge

      Manfred Kupetz

      Abstract

      The Muskau Arch is a beautifully formed, horseshoe-shaped glaciotectonic composite ridge formed by an inland ice glacier. Geographically, it is a spatially and structurally distinct part of the main ice margin of the Saalian Warthe period. However, it was formed in the early Elsterian Ice Age. Due to a special surface morphology in the form of small valleys without drainage, the so-called Gieser, as well as very extensive geological investigations for the raw materials, especially lignite, it is geologically the best documented and researched composite ridge worldwide. By balanced geological sections, it was possible to show that its formation cannot be attributed solely to a horizontal compression, which is classically assumed, but is the result of a two-stage formation process. In a first deformation step, the advancing, deforming Muskau glacier lobe caused ground failure in its unfrozen, loose sedimentary bedrock. In the second step, the glacier pushes and overthrusts the composite ridge, starting from the terrain depression caused by the ground failure. According to this genetic model, the Muskau Arch is referred to as a ground failure moraine. The geomorphological and structural geological classification of the Muskau Arch in relation to the surrounding Pleistocene glacial landscape is presented. Furthermore, the Muskau Arch is described in detail as a medium-size landscape element (landform) with its most important geosites. The Muskau Arch UNESCO Global Geopark was established in the territory presented in this chapter, showcasing the landscape of glacial origin as well as historical industrial development use of raw materials, mainly lignite. Today, the Muskau Arch is an attractive natural, cultural and post-mining landscape, with adequate tourist infrastructure.

   10. Chapter 10. Morphological Transformation of the Landscape in Lower Lusatia by Opencast Mining

       Margot Böse, Jacob Hardt

       Abstract

       The special history of the landscape of Lower Lusatia starts with the formation of lignite seams mainly in the Miocene, in near-coastal swampy forests with interruptions by marine transgressions. During the Quaternary, the area was affected by Elsterian and Saalian advances of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheets. The Saalian glacial cycle can be separated into the older Drenthe advance, forming the southern part of the area, including deeply incised glaciofluvial channels. The oscillations of the younger Warthe advance caused deep-seated glacitectonic disturbances. They resulted in two end moraine ridges forming the Niederlausitzer Grenzwall (Lower Lusatian Ridge) as a prominent morphological feature between the Lusatia ice-marginal valley to the south and the Glogau-Baruth ice-marginal valley to the north. Since the nineteenth century, the exploitation of the lignite seams in opencast mines has been pushed forward. This caused a fundamental transformation of the landscape. The recultivation of former dump areas as well as the flooding of deep-lying parts of the former mines is still in progress. Changes of the ecological situation—the formation of lakes in a former area without lakes—hydrological problems, and numerous slope stabilization problems, as well as the slow transformation into a touristic area, will occupy mankind for decades to come.

4. The Central Uplands

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 11. Western Rhenish Slate Mountains and Eifel Volcanos

      Ludwig Zöller, Frank Lehmkuhl

      Abstract

      At a first glance, the Western Rhenish Slate Mountains (WRSM) appear to be a rather unique uplifted block of the Paleozoic Variscan orogeny dominated by Paleogene or older planation surfaces. However, a closer look reveals remarkable differences between the regionally significant sceneries, some of which date back well before the Cenozoic. Remnants of fluvial, lacustrine, and brackish to marine Paleogene sediments are widespread in the WRSM and the subtropical climatic conditions are responsible for the development of the extensive planation surfaces and the Mesozoic-Tertiary weathering mantle (MTV). During the Quaternary uplift and Pleistocene climate cyclicity created valley incision and terraces staircases. Quaternary deposits consist of fluvial sediments. In the WRSM Quaternary sediments encompass cover beds on slopes, loess or loess derivates, and Holocene peat bogs. Cenozoic volcanism is abundant in the Eifel, and the volcanic landforms produced in the two Eifel volcanic fields during the Quaternary are generally much better preserved. A number of maars dating from the last glacial cycle still contain lakes and have given rise to the worldwide use of the term maar. The maar lakes and the silted-up dry maars with varved sediments are excellent archives of paleoclimate and paleoecology.

   3. Chapter 12. Middle Rhine Valley

      Peter Fischer, Felix Henselowsky, Tina Georg, Thomas O. Hoffmann

      Abstract

      The Middle Rhine Valley forms one of the most famous landscapes in Germany. It is well known for its gorge-like valley, which is deeply incised into the Rhenish Slate Mountains, flanked by numerous castles and steep valley slopes with extensive vineyards. The Middle Rhine Valley, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2002, forms a typical landscape palimpsest. Here we describe the Middle Rhine Valley structured by the dominant spatio-temporal scales that make up the most prominent landscape elements of the palimpsest: i) the dissected early Cenozoic planation surface, ii) the broad trough valley, iii) the incised gorge and iv) the recent geomorphic activity and human intervention. Special emphasis is given to the Rhine terraces that form a prominent staircase along the Middle Rhine Valley and have been subject to intensive research since more than one century. In addition, characterisation of recent processes and river dynamics are of crucial interest not only for the Middle Rhine Valley, as the Rhine connects the largest population centers in Germany including important infrastructure and is the largest waterway in Europe linking the European Alps and the North Sea.

   4. Chapter 13. Geomorphological Landscape Elements of the Harz Mountains, Northern Germany

      Michael Klinge

      Abstract

      The Harz Mountains lie on the northern edge of the German Central Uplands and stand out clearly as a raised block from its surrounding foreland. Due to its abundant mineral resources, the Harz has been a montane industrial area since the Middle Ages at least, so that there was an early scientific interest in the geological structure and relief development since the introduction of the mining academy in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Although the Harz is one of the best studied mountain ranges, open questions about tectonic evolution, relief genesis and glaciation history still exist. The multiphase uplift of the Variscan basement since the late Cretaceous and changing climate from subtropical during the Palaeogene to cooler conditions in the Pleistocene have led to a complex mountain landscape development. Pedimentation processes and the successive incision of valleys into an elevated planation surface have created an extraordinary variety of landscape elements, distinguished by different types of rocks. Deeply incised V-shaped valleys and gorges at the mountain edge alternate with flat valley floors on the central mountain plateau. Furthermore, rock walls and tors made of granite, quartzite or chert represent specific landscape elements that are often combined with block accumulations. During glaciations, periglacial processes formed straight slopes with cover beds of coarse slope debris, while possible local glaciation in the central high mountains as well as the Scandinavian ice sheets influenced relief development, too. In particular, mining and smelting industry, which was widespread in the Harz, and the associated charcoal burning and water management systems have led to numerous anthropogenically shaped landscape elements.

   5. Chapter 14. The Ith-Hils Syncline in Lower Saxony: An Example of the Development of Cuestas and Homoclinal Ridges and of the Role of the Saxonian Tectonics

      Wolfgang Römer

      Abstract

      The Ith-Hils hilly land provides a typical example of cuestas and homoclinal ridges developed on a synclinal structure in Mesozoic rocks of alternating resistance. Folding and faulting of these rocks were associated with Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic tectonic activity which favoured the injection and upward movement of Late Permian salts along fault trajectories and contributed to tilting and warping of the overlying rocks. Thus, the area provides a typical example of the interplay of Saxonian tectonics and landform development which appears to apply also to other areas such as the Harz foreland. Structural control of landforms of the synclinal structure is expressed in hillslope forms and NW–SE-striking elongate ridges in resistant rocks, paralleled by valley zones in weaker rocks. Despite the close association between landforms and geological structure, crest flats and truncation surfaces point to a more complex landscape development path which appears to range back into the Paleogene. Quaternary glacial advances and periglacial conditions resulted in marked changes of the morphodynamics and left important imprints in the landscape. Human interference in landscape dynamics is indicated by quarrying and mining for limestone, sands and asphalt.

   6. Chapter 15. Elbsandsteingebirge (Elbe Sandstone Uplands)

      Michael Dietze, Piotr Migoń

      Abstract

      The Elbsandsteingebirge in the eastern part of Germany is a stunning tableland dissected by the antecedent valley of the Elbe river. Its impressive character stems from a more than 500 m thick succession of Upper Cretaceous quartz-dominated sandstones with thin intercalations of claystones, which lie almost horizontally. Major landform units include extensive flats formed upon the top of sandstone units, dissected by the steep-sided canyon of the Elbe River and its tributary valleys, and overlooked by various types of residual relief. Dissected plateaus, large tabular hills (mesas), isolated rock towers and buttes, pinnacles and boulder piles emerge in a relatively small area, allowing one to trace the geomorphic evolution of a tableland from a plateau to plain. A few of these mesas and buttes are presented in detail. Rock control on topography is pervasive and explains both the slope profiles, with the presence of cliffs in massive sandstone caprock, and the dissection along vertical joints. The Elbe River is a transit river, draining most of the Bohemian Massif, and occasionally brings catastrophic floods and inundation of the floodplain and narrow tributary valleys. The area is long renowned for its geomorphology-based scenic beauty, rendering it an excellent geotourism destination.

5. The Rhine Rift Valley and South German Scarplands

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 16. The Upper Rhine Graben: A Diverse Landscape Shaped by Endogenic and Exogenic Processes

      Markus Fuchs

      Abstract

      The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is a distinct geomorphic feature in SW Germany, with its southern part representing the border region with France. Being a large-scale endogenic morphostructure, the URG also hosts diverse exogenic fluvial and aeolian landforms, which well illustrates an interplay of endogenic tectonic and volcanic processes with climatically driven exogenic geomorphic processes. In recent centuries, anthropogenic activities such as gravel mining or river correction have come into play as an additional formative factor. The river Rhine as one of the largest rivers in Europe flows in south–north direction through the URG, dominantly controlling its sedimentary system and landforms such as fluvial terraces and dunes. In addition, thick alluvial deposits of the URG represent valuable sedimentary archives for reconstructing the geological, geomorphological, and environmental history of the URG. Furthermore, these graben fillings provide important aquifers as well as important sources for raw materials, e.g., gravel for the building industry. However, the URG is not only prominent from a geoscientific perspective, but due to its soils and favorable climatic conditions it is also intensively used for agriculture, including viticulture.

   3. Chapter 17. Landscape Evolution of the Black Forest: From the Variscan Orogeny to the Modern Era

      Felix Martin Hofmann

      Abstract

      With a maximum elevation of 1493 m above sea level, the Black Forest (Schwarzwald in German) is the second highest mountain range in Germany. It is subdivided into three main natural regions, the northern, central and southern Black Forest. The Variscan basement of the Black Forest consists of plutonic and metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks formed during the Mesozoic under marine and terrestrial conditions. The evolution of the Upper Rhine Graben had a profound impact on relief of the Black Forest. Higher erosion rates in the western part of the Black Forest resulted in the formation of deep and steep valleys (Rhenanian relief type), and in the removal of Mesozoic rocks. The relief of these Rhenanian Valleys contrasts with the rather subdued relief in the eastern part of the Black Forest (Danubian relief type). Glacial deposits and landforms in the northern, central and southern Black Forest bear witness to Quaternary glaciations. Periglacial processes overprinted non-glaciated and deglaciated areas and gave rise to the development of slope deposits (cover beds). With the onset of the Holocene and rising temperatures, the Black Forest became almost entirely covered by forests, thus resulting in a period of geomorphological stability. Human activity caused processes, such as colluviation or soil erosion, and became an increasingly important factor in terms of geomorphological processes.

   4. Chapter 18. Landforms, Loops, and Loess—The Southern Odenwald and the Lower River Neckar Valley

      Bertil Mächtle, Olaf Bubenzer

      Abstract

      Most of the southern Odenwald region is characterized by an overall flat topography, formed in the Triassic Buntsandstein, that is dissected deeply by the lower River Neckar and its tributaries. The region experienced a complex history of uplift, tilting, and formation of a scarpland. Tectonic activity and Pleistocene climate dynamics forced the river Neckar to incise deep valley meanders, with distinct undercut and slip-off slopes and frequently to leave its bed to form a number of incision levels and loop branches. On the slopes, periglacial cover beds smooth the terrain. As a special feature, the Cretaceous remnant of the Katzenbuckel Volcano close to Eberbach is enthroned above the Buntsandstein Plateau where several former loops with five cut-off spurs of the river Neckar are incised. Downstream, the former Mauer loop represents the scenery for the activity of Homo heidelbergensis ca. 600 000 years ago. Close to Heidelberg, the Pleistocene loess sequence of the Haarlass site represents no less than the locus classicus for loess research. To the north, the dissected Crystalline Odenwald has its own specific shape. A train trip provides a good opportunity to experience the beauty and complexity of landforms along the river Neckar and the “Naturpark Neckartal-Odenwald” with numerous educational trails.

   5. Chapter 19. Landscapes Around the Upper Danube Valley—“The Swabian Grand Canyon”

      Joachim Eberle

      Abstract

      The upper Danube Valley and the surrounding landscapes are among the most geomorphologically diverse regions in southern Germany. Numerous well-preserved sediments and surface structures contain geoarchives, which date back to the Paleogene. Besides the history of the Danube River, the developments in the Alpine foreland and the evolution of the karst landscape of the Swabian Alb also play an important role. The aim of this chapter is to explain the main phases of landscape development in chronological order.

   6. Chapter 20. Geomorphological Processes of Cuesta Scarps—Landslides at the Swabian Jurassic Escarpment

      Martina Wilde, Birgit Terhorst

      Abstract

      The southwest of Germany is characterised by cuesta scarps with different characteristics. This impressive scarpland area comprises the cuesta scarps of the Buntsandstein (Early Triassic), Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic), Keuper (Late Triassic), and the Jurassic escarpment (Lehmkuhl and Römer 2025, Chapter 1.1, Fig. 1.6). The latter is divided into the Swabian and Franconian Alb, separated by the Nördlinger Ries meteorite impact crater. The Swabian Alb is an exceptional example of a cuesta landscape with its numerous unique geomorphological and geological features, including gravitational mass movements, various karst phenomena, and volcanic structures. Primarily, the distinctive lithological (particularly the interbedding of permeable and impermeable bedrock) and morphological conditions are responsible for the occurrence of landslides, and thus they represent an important geomorphic feature in the landscape of the Swabian cuesta scarp (Swabian Alb). The Swabian escarpment (Albtrauf) hosts numerous landslides of different sizes and ages. Especially the reactivation of past slide masses plays an important role. These reactivation processes are closely connected to the present-day natural hazards, and they lead to the rejuvenation of landforms which significantly shape the landscape. Repeatedly, they can cause severe damage to settlements and infrastructures, and threaten the population in slope positions of the Swabian Alb. This study presents three remarkable landslide areas with varying ages, showing their different characteristics and their impact on the landscape of the Swabian Alb.

   7. Chapter 21. Karst Within the South German Scarplands: Limestone and Gypsum Landforms of Franconia

      Simon Meyer-Heintze, Barbara Sponholz, Birgit Terhorst

      Abstract

      In this chapter we present two exemplary karst areas in the Franconian South German Scarplands. One area is influenced by limestone karst, while the other is affected by gypsum karst. Geological prerequisites, particularly the soluble layers, play a crucial role. Karst phenomena impact landscape evolution across different spatial and temporal scales. The formation of dry valleys is linked to the periglacial past, where permafrost and loess sedimentation led to asymmetrical valley transects. In Lower Franconia, karstification processes affect the Main River stream network and lead to urban sinkhole problems. Additionally, gypsum karst-induced landforms in the Windsheimer Bucht region in Middle Franconia reveal early human influence on the landscape.

   8. Chapter 22. The Northern Franconian Alb and the Fichtel Mountains—Two Contrasting Landscapes in Upper Franconia

      Thomas Kolb, Markus Fuchs

      Abstract

      Upper Franconia (Oberfranken) in northern Bavaria, Germany, is well known from its two contrasting landscapes, the Northern Franconian Alb (Nördliche Frankenalb) and the Fichtel Mountains (Fichtelgebirge). These two major units are separated by a transition zone, called the Northeast-Bavarian Block-Faulted Zone. The whole region offers a rich diversity of landscapes shaped by the interplay of geological and geomorphological processes. The lithology of Upper Franconia is characterized by the presence of diverse rock types, including sandstones, limestones, granites, and volcanic rocks. This distinct diversity reflects the regional tectonic history, which has largely been controlled by the Franconian Lineament, one of the most prominent intraplate fault structures in Central Europe. Based on its diverse geological setting, the morphology of Upper Franconia reveals a great variety of landforms, including mountain ranges, plateau areas, deeply incised river systems, dry valleys and other features typical of karst, and granite landforms. The chapter will describe the tectonic forces and geomorphological processes of weathering, erosion, and fluvial dynamics that have shaped these landforms and will finally address an increasing role of human activities in modifying natural landscapes.

   9. Chapter 23. Impact Crater Nördlinger Ries—Cosmos Shapes Landscape

      Lina Seybold, Stefan Hölzl

      Abstract

      The Ries crater, located in southern Germany within the Swabian-Franconian Alb, is one of the best-preserved asteroid impact craters worldwide. Its expression on the surface and accessible impact rocks attract visitors from all over the world. Since its recognition as an impact crater, it is a study object for many who research impact cratering processes and landscape development in impact craters. The target rocks of the impact are still accessible to the east and west of the Nördlinger Ries in the Swabian-Franconian Alb and give information on the pre-impact geologic history, which, as well as the post-impact development, characterizes today’s landscape as much as the impact event itself. The target rocks consisted of a sedimentary succession overlying a crystalline basement. During the impact large masses of rock were fragmented, melted, vaporised, and ejected out of the crater. The ejecta masses still cover large parts of the surroundings of the crater today, with the chaotic emplacement process of diverse rocks, creating an exceptionally high level of geodiversity in a small area. The landscape of the Nördlinger Ries therefore provides special conditions, leading for example to early settlement and intense agricultural land use, and it harbours many protected areas and a special climate.

6. The Alpine Foreland

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 24. Drainage Reorganisation in the Danube and Rhine Catchments

      Stefanie Tofelde, Wolfgang Schwanghart

      Abstract

      The Quaternary geomorphic history of southern Germany is tightly linked to the reorganisation of the drainage basins of the Danube and Rhine. Driven by the tectonic development of the Jura Fold-and-Thrust belt, by the subsidence of the Upper Rhine Graben, and by repeated foreland glaciations both rivers and their tributaries changed their courses with corresponding shifts of their drainage divides. The formation of the prominent Wutach Gorge in the Black Forest in response to a river deflection ~18,000 years ago is the youngest among a series of events and documents the highly dynamic nature and landscape-changing consequences of drainage basin reorganisation. Ongoing, more subtle divide shifts are also evidenced by cross-divide routing of subsurface flows between the Danube stream sink and the Aachtopf, Germany’s most productive spring. Geomorphometric analysis indicates that the Rhine basin will continue to grow at the expense of the Danube catchment in the future.

   3. Chapter 25. Quaternary Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of the Bavarian Alpine Foreland

      Bernhard Lempe, Christoph Mayr

      Abstract

      The Bavarian Alpine Foreland is a classical area of geomorphological and stratigraphical studies of the Quaternary since the late nineteenth century. The foothills of the Alps offer a wealth of well-preserved landforms that were created by primarily glacigenic and glacifluvial processes. These include terraced valleys formed during multiple phases by glacial meltwaters. In the Memmingen region, these contributed significantly to the classification of glacials into four main phases in the Alpine region, which is still used today with modifications and extensions. Moraine ramparts, terminal basins, kettle holes, drumlins and many other landforms, especially from the last glacial period, are still well preserved and witness the landscape-shaping advances of the piedmont glaciers from the Alps.

7. The German Alps

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 26. Alpine Valley Formation and Rock Wall Retreat Over Neogene, Quaternary and Holocene Time Scales

      Michael Krautblatter, Oliver Sass, Michael Dietze, Benjamin Jacobs, Verena Stammberger, Carolin Kiefer

      Abstract

      This chapter discusses valley formation in the German Northern Calcareous Alps on a conceptual level and then on a Neogene, Quaternary, Lateglacial and Holocene time scale. In the Neogene up to the early Pliocene geomorphological processes mostly under tropical to subtropical climatic conditions led to the development of the initial fluvial network and formed the initial shape of the mountains. Global cooling initiated a cycle of glacials and interglacials in the Quaternary, caused the origin of massively incised trough valley systems, and finally left the valleys with a thick sediment cover. Erosion and sediment redistribution altered completely the appearance of the valleys in the Lateglacial and the Holocene. Valley-shaping processes and related landforms include rockfall and talus production, debris flows and fan evolution, rock-slope failures, landslides and dammed valleys, as well as fluvial incision and gorge evolution. High ongoing level of geomorphological activity is highlighted in a number of examples from the German Alps and immediately neighbouring parts of the Northern Calcareous Alps.

   3. Chapter 27. Glacial, Periglacial and the Recent Permafrost Domains in the German Alps

      Wilfried Hagg, Michael Krautblatter

      Abstract

      The German part of the Alps is still home to four small glaciers whose further existence is under threat. Since the Little Ice Age, the glacier area has shrunk from around 400 hectares to 36 hectares in 2023. Even if greenhouse gas emissions were stopped immediately, their disappearance would only be a matter of time, as they are losing mass across all altitude ranges, even under current climatic conditions. The reconstruction of the glacier bed based on radar measurements of ice thickness shows some overdeepening on the Zugspitzplatt, which could lead to the formation of two small lakes after deglacierization, provided there is no underground karst drainage. Glacial erosional forms range from small, subglacially formed glaciofluvial phenomena to roches moutonnées, as well as cirques, âretes and horns. Forms of glacial deposition are mainly push moraines which can be found where they have not been destroyed by landslides or fluvial erosion. Permafrost distribution has also significantly changed since the Little Ice Age. Present-day permafrost is concentrated in a few km² around the Zugspitze, but remnant ice is still widely distributed in debris and in rock faces, e.g. in the debris surrounding the Zugspitzplatt and in north faces above 2700 m a.s.l. but also locally in lower-lying areas. Both rock permafrost and ice-rich permafrost in debris undergo rapid degradation at the Zugspitze and are expected to disappear in the next 50 years.

   4. Chapter 28. Holocene Sediment Cascades in the German Alps

      Joachim Götz, Lothar Schrott

      Abstract

      This paper presents Holocene sediment cascades in the German Limestone Alps, considering both spatial and temporal perspectives. It provides insights into the dynamics and understanding of sediment cascades in alpine landscapes. Altitude-dependent geomorphological processes (e.g. rockfalls, debris flows, avalanches, etc.) are controlled primarily by climate, topography, lithology, and glacial heritage, and form so-called sediment cascades. The effectiveness of sediment transport through a system over time depends on the connectivity and coupling of geomorphological processes. Different sedimentary catchments in the Wetterstein and Berchtesgaden Alps are highlighted and discussed, especially regarding variable geological and lithological conditions and corresponding patterns of dominant geomorphological process domains. The Reintal Valley in the Wetterstein mountains is presented as one of the best studied catchments in terms of sediment cascades. It is controlled by a series of large-scale rockfall deposits and moraines that trap significant amounts of sediment in the valley. The Königssee, Wimbach and Klausbach valleys in the Berchtesgaden National Park are then introduced. They serve as textbook sites to illustrate adjacent but strongly contrasting sediment transport systems.

   5. Chapter 29. Large and Highly Dynamic Landslides (Bergstürze) in Bavaria

      Andreas v. Poschinger

      Abstract

      This article enumerates some important rockslide sites in the Bavarian Alps. After a short general definition of the German term Bergsturz the sites are described regarding their dimensions, their geology and their morphology. The selection restricts to those that are quite easily accessible and that show some peculiar features. The reader is invited to go to the field to see the phenomena with his own eyes.