8. The Geomorphology of the City of Berlin

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.