Germany has an
area of 137,847 square miles (357,021 square kilometers). It
stretches about 520 miles
(840 kilometers) north to
south, reaching from 47
to 55 degrees north latitude, and
385 miles (620 kilometers) east to west, between 6 and 15 degrees east
longitude. The terrain can be divided into three regions that increase
in elevation from
north to south.
Each is unique
in terms of natural resources and human activities.
Germany has
1,485 miles (2,389 kilometers) of coastline facing the North Sea to the west
and Baltic Sea to the east. A break in the coast is created by the Jutland Peninsula, which predominantly
belongs to Denmark (although the
southern half of the peninsula is occupied by the German state of
Schleswig-Holstein). The two seas are connected south of the peninsula by the
Kiel Canal. Germany has a 12-mile territorial water limit
and a 200-mile
exclusive economic zone, which represent a mutually agreed upon
international standard. Because of the shape of the coastline and the proximity
to other countries, however, the actual area claimed is quite small.
The
coastline is generally low
lying with sandy beaches and marshlands. In the summer, the beaches of
both the North and Baltic seas are popular holiday destinations. Shrimp and
mussels abound in the mudflats and tidal waters along parts of the coast.
In some
areas, marshes have
been reclaimed, similar
to the polder lands of the Netherlands. These areas provide
rich pastureland and a landscape of dairy farms and fields of
vegetables. Other low coastal areas contain peat bogs. Peat is primarily made
up of moss, which can be spread on lawns and gardens to improve growth, or
dried and burned as a fuel. Where peat has been removed, a landscape of shallow
ponds is created
.
THE NORTH GERMAN
PLAIN
South of the
Baltic and North sea coastlines is
the low, gently rolling North German
Plain. This almost featureless landscape is part of the huge North European
Plain, which extends westward to the
Pyrenees Mountains, through
the Netherlands, Belgium, and
France, and eastward
through Poland, Belarus, and
Russia to the Ural Mountains.
Five
northward-flowing rivers cross
the plain. From west to
east, they are
the Rhine, Ems, Weser, Elbe, and
Oder. The Rhine is the largest of these rivers. Beginning in Switzerland, it
flows through Germany and into the Netherlands, reaching the North Sea at
Rotterdam, the world’s busiest seaport. The Ems, a shorter river, reaches the
North Sea at Emden. Germany’s largest
fishing port, Bremerhaven,
is located at the
mouth of the Weser. The larger
city of Bremen is farther downstream. The city of Hamburg, with
a population of 2 million, is a port near the mouth of
the Elbe River. The Oder forms
the boundary between Germany and
Poland and empties into the Baltic Sea. The mouth of the river is in Poland.
Regions near
the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea experience a maritime climate. Winds
blowing from the west, having passed
over warm water, have a moderating
effect. Summers average 61°F
(16°C) and winter snow lasts for only short periods. Unpleasant weather can
occur when winter storms move in
from the east,
often causing freezing
rain. This happens when
cold air masses from Siberia
expand southward during
wintertime and clash
with moist Atlantic air over Germany. Moving away
from the North Sea to the
south and east,
the climate becomes less
maritime and more
continental, with warmer summers
and colder winters. The Rhine River usually remains largely ice-free, but the
Elbe River often freezes in winter. Most of the lowland area receives between
20 and 30 inches (50 and 75 centimeters) of precipitation per year.
Continental glaciation,
the advance of
huge ice masses during
the ice age,
has left deposits
of clay, gravel,
and sand across the plain, which accounts
for the soil’s
limited fertility. The natural
vegetation across the North German Plain
would be deciduous forest; however, most
of this woodland has been removed to clear
land for farming during the past 1,000 years. Going back
into time, large
areas of Europe were
covered by dense forest. One
could enter the
forest in Portugal and walk through dense stands of
trees all the way to Germany and on into Russia without ever
leaving it, but that
is no longer possible. Nowadays,
here, as throughout the remainder of Germany, most woodlands are in areas
that are protected or marked by
rugged terrain. The modern landscape
is one of
pasturelands and grain crops.
Barley is grown
along the Baltic Coast,
oats near the North Sea, and rye farther inland. Potatoes are another
traditional crop. However, due to modern agricultural methods, the widespread
use of chemical fertilizers, and improved hybrid strains that
mature during a
shorter growing season,
many farmers have changed to corn, which is a more valuable crop.
Grains are
grown to feed animals, and herds of sheep or cattle have traditionally grazed
among the fields of this landscape. Livestock herding can only be done,
however, where the quality of the soil provides sufficient grass and grains
upon which the stock can feed. Today, most chickens, pigs, and cattle are
raised in large barns and provided with
grain to eat. They do not go outside to
graze. This means that there is no longer a close link between agriculture and
soil quality, and farm animals are less
often seen when traveling in the countryside.
When the glaciers
retreated around 10,000 years ago, they left
gravel ridges, called moraines, which spread
east to west across the
plain. Examination of the
main rivers on a
map reveals that although they generally run south to north, most turn sharply
to either the
east or west as
they pass through the valleys between the moraines.
Today, these portions of the rivers are connected by the Mittelland Canal, which runs east to
west across the North German Plain.
The cities of
Essen, Hanover, and Berlin are
on the canal. The
sedimentary rock beneath the North German Plain holds some natural gas
and oil deposits. These are found north of the Mittelland Canal and contribute
to Germany’s petrochemical industry.
Along the
southern margin of the plain, loess
(windblown silt) deposits create
extremely fertile soils
that support sugar beets,
wheat, and corn.
About a third
of Germany’s land
is suitable for raising
crops and another
15 percent is meadow or
pastureland. The cities
of Cologne, Düsseldorf,
Essen, Hanover, Leipzig, and Dresden
dot the southern
edge of the North German Plain. These cities provide access
to both the best agricultural land of
the plain and the forest and mineral resources of the uplands
to the south. All of
these cities have populations between 500,000 and one million people,
making the landscape different
from either France
or Poland, where only one
city—Paris and Warsaw, respectively—dominates the urban structure. Fruits,
vegetables, and flowers are grown close to these urban markets.
Beneath the
southern edge of the North German
Plain, a broad east-west band of coal crosses the country. In the west, it is
the black, high-quality bituminous variety that can be used to produce
coke for the
production of steel.
The industrial city of Essen,
on the Ruhr River, developed on this
coalfield. In the east, the coal is the lower grade known as brown
lignite. Lignite is not suitable for steel production but can be used to
provide energy for factories and electricity generation. Potash
is the other main mineral found on the
North German Plain, particularly near the city of Hanover.
The largest
city on the North German Plain
has no rela-tionship to
the physical features
or natural resources
of the area. Berlin
is the seventh-largest city
in Europe. It
is an artificial product
of the central
governments of Prussia
and Germany. The city was established as the capital because of its
central location at a time when Germany extended farther east than it does
today.
THE CENTRAL UPLANDS
South of the North German Plain, the
land becomes increasingly rugged
due to the
geological process of faulting. This creates
steep-sided, flat-topped hills
that because of
erosion have become rounded in appearance. The highest elevations in
this zone are found in the Black Forest, in the southwest corner of
Germany, just east of the Upper Rhine,
where the hills rise to 4,898 feet
(1,493 meters). The Bohemian
Forest and Ore Mountains on the
border with the Czech Republic reach 2,536 feet
(773 meters), and the Harz Mountains, which form
the boundary with the North
German Plain, to
the southeast of Hanover, reach 3,747 feet (1,142 meters).
The Rhine,
Weser, and Elbe rivers flow through the valleys between these
hills, sometimes in
steep-sided gorges. South of Bonn, the Rhine Gorge is a popular
tourist attraction. The Rhine Valley in the southwest is the warmest
part of Germany. The mean summer temperature is 66°F (19°C) and the average
January temperature is just above freezing. The Black Forest to the east and
the Vosges Mountains in France, to the west, create a sheltered
environment. The valley
sides are used
for vineyards. Early Christian
monks from Italy introduced grapes into the Rhine Valley for the production of
wine. Vineyards are also found
along the Moselle, Saar, Main,
and Neckar rivers. The valley floors have
rich alluvial soils. Wheat,
corn, sugar beets, tobacco, hops,
fruits, and specialty vegetables such as asparagus are grown here.
The Central
Uplands are not high enough to be a
climate barrier; however, rainfall
increases with elevation—reaching up to 59 inches (150
centimeters)—and temperatures decline. There is abundant snowfall in the
winter, continuing well into March. By 1800,
the rivers provided waterpower for
industry and today the Central Uplands provide water for
the cities of the North German Plain.
Much of
the Central Uplands
region is forested.
River valleys have alder, willow, and poplar where it is wet, and oak,
ash, and elm in drier locations. Maple, chestnut, and walnut trees
are also found in some areas. In the nineteenth century, the forests were
cut to provide
charcoal for the
smelting of local iron ores
into metal goods. The discovery
of coal
as a power source moved
this industry to the nearby
Ruhr Valley (Essen) in the west,
and Chemnitz and Dresden
in the east. Many areas have now
been reforested. The Black Forest and the Jura Mountains are popular tourist
destinations, and there are numerous
national and state
parks, where Germans can enjoy their favorite pastime of
hiking. The Central Uplands also have small deposits of zinc, lead, silver, copper, and uranium. Most of
the mines have closed because they are no longer profitable.
Farther south,
the land is a
series of plateaus crossed by the
Main and Neckar rivers, both of which flow into the Rhine. The main city on the
Neckar River is Stuttgart, while Frankfurt is on the Main River and Nuremberg
(Nürnberg) is on the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. The Danube River forms the
southern boundary of this area. It flows eastward from the Black Forest across
southern Germany and into Austria, eventually reaching the Black Sea. A canal
has been built to connect the Danube to the Main.
THE ALPINE REGION
The Bavarian,
or German, Alps occupy the
extreme southern part of Germany.
These mountains are a northern extension of the Alpine system
that extends across
portions of Austria and Switzerland, as well
as into northern Italy
and eastern France. The
Alps are high,
folded mountains similar
to the Rocky Mountains of the United States. Their
spectacular terrain is the result of alpine, or mountain, glaciation that
scoured a variety of jagged features.
The highest elevation in Germany is Zugspitze, at 9,721 feet (2,963 meters).
The Alpine foreland, or foothills, slopes down
to the south
bank of the
Danube. The city
of Munich, (München) with a population of more than one million, is
located at the northern end of a pass through the Alps. Precipitation in the
Alps can reach 78 inches (198 centimeters) annually, and the rivers of the Alps
provide sites for the generation of hydroelectricity.
About 31
percent of Germany is
forested. Approximately 45 percent of this forest consists of pine and
about 40 percent is beech. Pine is found at higher elevations and on poorer
soils. Beech grows in well-drained areas with
a temperate climate. Areas that
have been replanted
with spruce now
make up 20 percent of
the productive forest
of Germany. Spruce
will grow in colder temperatures and are found on the higher elevations
of the Alpine region.
Germany supports
an abundance of
wildlife. Deer are found
in the forests,
as are martens (large weasels), wildcats, and, in remote areas, wolves. Beaver live along
the Elbe River, and wild boars are
found in the north. Because of its
central location, a wide variety of birds also are found, including
those common to both western and eastern Europe. Laws to protect plants and
animals have been passed.
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
Extensive industrialization has
contributed to significant
air and water pollution in Germany. The burning of brown lignite coal
emits sulfur and other chemicals into
the air. These pol-lutants combine with water vapor in the air to form
acid compounds, and when it rains, it is as if vinegar were being poured
onto the
land. Trees are killed
by this acid
rain, and when it accumulates in
lakes, fish and other animals
die. The government has undertaken efforts to control and reduce emissions in
western Germany and has closed heavily polluting factories in the former East
Germany.
Germany’s
rivers have been used for the disposal of industrial and municipal wastes and
are also polluted by the heavy volume
of shipping. Water of the Rhine River is
so contaminated that
swimming is prohibited. Although the
government has now imposed strict
regulations, considerable damage
has already been done to the aquatic life. The cleanup is very expensive,
and it
takes a long time
to eliminate contaminants from
the environment. Large
volumes of water are
extracted from rivers to be used
for cooling, particularly by steel mills, nuclear power plants, and other industries. Water used as a coolant is returned
to the rivers
at a higher
temperature, endangering aquatic
life by what is called heat pollution.
The Baltic
Sea poses a
special environmental problem, because it is almost landlocked.
Being nearly enclosed by land, its water is not flushed clean on a regular
basis. There are more than a dozen countries
that dump pollutants into rivers
that flow into the
Baltic Sea. Germany
has tried to
clean up the industrial and municipal
waste dumped into
the sea by the
former East Germany, but
it needs the
cooperation of other countries if the Baltic
is to be rejuvenated. Residue from agri-cultural chemicals that
flow into the Baltic are now the major
source of pollution.
Open pit
mining, particularly of lignite coal,
damages the landscape and
releases toxic chemicals
into the surface
and groundwater. After 1990, about one-third of the mines in East Germany
were closed because of environmental concerns. This is a problem of
considerable significance also found in the coal mining areas of the United States. Nuclear power plants provide some of Germany’s electricity needs. Two plants in East Germany were closed in 1990 due
to fears that
they were not safe because of maintenance issues.
As was
mentioned, one of the serious environmental issues confronting Germans is acid
rain, which has devastated forests throughout much of
central and northern
Europe. Pollution and its
causes do not
recognize international boundaries. Because winds in the region primarily
blow from the west, air masses filled with damaging particles travel eastward
from the huge industrial centers
of western Europe.
Once they reach central Europe, they release acid rain
that destroys vegetation. Germany,
then, is both a cause and a
victim of acid rain and its devastating
effects. Faced with this and other critical issues, countries of
the European Union are
increasingly improving their environmental
standards. Thus, Germany is one of the
leading supporters for the reduction of greenhouse gasses and industrial
pollution, which is enormously significant considering the country is Europe’s
industrial leader.
Germany is
relatively free of
devastating environmental hazards.
A country’s geographic location often
contributes to its potential
harmony with or threats
from the natural
environment. The biggest problem in terms of financial damage is flooding.
Rivers often spill over onto their surrounding flood plains causing
considerable damage. Floods
in Germany are mostly
the combination of two factors:
seasonal snowmelt in the Alps and heavy rains
that sometimes occur in the region. They
create conditions to
which northern Germany’s low lands
are particularly vulnerable. Cities are
located along the riverbanks, and often spread out barely
above the water level, thereby exposing them
to rising water. The Rhine, which cuts through a
hilly area of western Germany, often
floods cities that are located on
a narrow floodplain between the river and hill slopes.
From: William R.
Horne - Germany, Second Edition
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