The Westphalian Lowland , also known as the Westphalian Basin is a flat landscape that mainly lies within the German region of Westphalia , although small areas also fall within North Rhine (in the extreme southwest) and in Lower Saxony (on the northern periphery). Together with the neighbouring Lower Rhine Plain to the west, it represents the second most southerly region of the North German Plain , after the Cologne Bight . It is variously known in German as the Westfälische Bucht (Westphalian Bay), the Münsterländer or Westfälische Tieflands- or Flachlandsbucht (Münsterland or Westphalian Lowland or Plain).
20-535: The Kernmünsterland is a major landscape unit in western Germany. It covers an area of about 2700 km and lies at the heart of the Westphalian Basin and the historic region of Münsterland in the north of Westphalia . It is bounded to the west, north and east by the sandy countryside of the Westmünsterland and Ostmünsterland, whilst in the south it is bordered by the loess landscapes of
40-640: A bay in the coastline of the Cretaceous 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 historic Hellweg east–west trade route through Germany, and especially in the northern Ruhr . At various sites in the Westphalian Lowland giant ammonites have been found in Cretaceous layers of rock below
60-464: Is a nature park in the districts of Hochsauerlandkreis and Soest within the administrative region of Arnsberg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . The park was established in 1960 and covers an area of 482 km . Nearly 350 km of the protection is forested and the park's wooded hills rise up to 581.5 m above sea level (NN) . The nature park, which consists of
80-695: Is also worth visiting as are the observation towers of Lörmecke Tower (near the highest point in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park between Warstein and Eversberg ), the Küppel Tower (near Meschede-Freienohls) and the Delecke Bismarck Tower (north of Möhnesee-Delecke). Many trails wind through the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park and its hills and valleys. The best known are the Upland Trail (no. "X 13") and
100-551: Is occasionally called in German, the Münsterländische Bucht (Münsterland Bay), because a large part of this low-lying plain lies in central and eastern Münsterland . It is therefore used pars pro toto for the whole region. The use of the term Bucht ("bay" or "bight") stems from the geological origin of the region which is half surrounded by the ridges of the Central Uplands . At one time it formed
120-765: The Arnsberg Forest in the west and the Warstein Forest in the east, is important for the regional economy both in terms of forestry and tourism. The two forests form a densely wooded part of the Süder Uplands within the Rhine Massif . The Arnsberg Forest Nature Park lies between the river Möhne in the north, on which the Möhne Reservoir is located, and the deep valley of the Ruhr in
140-570: The BfN system; both using the same boundaries. From a natural region perspective the Westphalian Lowland major unit group is sub-divided into the following three-figure major units : The Westphalian Lowland has the character of a basin because it is bounded by ridges of the Lower Saxon Hills from the northeast to east and by the northern part of the Süder Uplands to the south. These hills rise to heights of several hundred metres above
160-671: The Hellweg Börde and Emscherland . Geologically it rises clearly over the surrounding area on a bed of thinly covered Upper Cretaceous strata. The Kernmünsterland is roughly bounded by the valley of the River Lippe to the south and that of the Ems to the northeast, the Lippe valley being considered part of Kernmünsterland, whilst the Ems valley is counted as part of Ostmünsterland. To
180-991: The North Sauerland Oberland (including the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park ) runs in a westerly direction, passing the Möhnesee immediately south of the Haarstrang and then runs south of the Hellweg to the edge of the Lower Sauerland to south of Dortmund , from where its course takes it further west, north of the Ardey Hills and the adjoining parts of the Lower Berg-Mark Hills ( Niederbergisch-Märkisches Hügelland ) heading south of Bochum and Essen to
200-783: The basin floor. The boundary of this natural region runs, clockwise from the north, as follows: From Rheine southeastwards along the southern edge of the Teutoburg Forest , from southwest of Osnabrück heading southwest of Bielefeld to the point where the Teutoburg Forest meets the Eggegebirge . From here the boundary runs to the Paderborn Plateau in front of the Egge heading south-southwest via Paderborn and Büren . From east of Rüthen its boundary with
220-455: The cities of Münster in the centre, Gütersloh in the north and Paderborn on the eastern periphery. The city of Bielefeld itself lies outside the region over the other side of the Teutoburg Forest, however parts of the borough lies within the northern part of the basin (Brackwede, Senne, Sennestadt). The most populous cities in the Westphalian Lowland are (in brackets their population in thousands): The most important river systems are: The area
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#1732793117609240-707: The forests, as well as other water courses that feed the Möhne and Ruhr: The hills and hilltops of the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park include: the Warsteiner Kopf (556.9 m; fourth-highest hill), the Gemeinheitskopf (551.9 m; fifth-highest hill) the Niekopf (550.4 m; sixth-highest hill) and the Nuttlarer Höhe (542.2 m). These are the best known hills in the nature park because, unlike
260-727: The individual regions of Münsterland , the Emscherland in the (western) south, and regions even further south that flank the Sauerland around the Hellweg . The Westphalian Lowland is classified as a major unit group within the natural regions of Germany and is number 54 in the Handbook of the Natural Regional Divisions of Germany ( Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands ) and region D34 in
280-506: The other local heights they are shown on most of the maps and the specialised reference books. There are also, as the following list shows, a number of unnamed hilltops. In or on the edge of the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park are numerous villages belonging to these municipalities and towns: The Bilstein Cave southwest of Warstein in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park attracts many tourists. The cave of Hohler Stein southwest of Rüthen-Kallenhardts
300-543: The south. Between these two valleys the park is situated between Möhnesee in the northwest, Rüthen in the northeast, Brilon in the east, Olsberg in the southeast, Meschede in the south and Arnsberg in the southwest; Warstein lies within the nature reserve . To the north is the heavily forested region of the Haarstrang , to the east are the Brilon Heights , to the south is the Rothaargebirge , to
320-537: The southeast is its own major landscape unit. Kernmünsterland includes the city of Münster (less the northeast part) to the north, the district of Coesfeld (less the extreme west with Coesfeld and Billerbeck ) to the west, the district of Warendorf (less the north with Sassenberg , Warendorf -Nord, Telgte and Ostbevern ) to the east the centre of the historic Münsterland . Westphalian Basin The Westphalian Lowland consists of
340-637: The southwest is the Lennegebirge and to the west the terrain gradually descends towards Dortmund into the Ruhr . The best-known water feature in the Arnsberg Forest Nature Park is the Möhnesee , set in the Möhne valley between the Haarstrang in the north and the Arnsberg Forest in the south. Numerous rivers run through the wooded valleys. These include the Ruhr and Möhne, which border
360-476: The surface, for example when the underground railway network was being built in Dortmund . These cephalopods , with a shell diameter of more than two metres are the largest known invertebrates . 51°57′46″N 7°37′43″E / 51.9629°N 7.6287°E / 51.9629; 7.6287 Arnsberg Forest Nature Park The Arnsberg Forest Nature Park ( German : Naturpark Arnsberger Wald )
380-590: The vicinity of Mülheim . From east of Mülheim its unremarkable boundary with the Lower Rhine Plain runs northwards via Bottrop , Dorsten , Borken and finally along the state border with the Netherlands , to Gronau . The largest centres of population in the Westphalian Lowland are the cities of the central and eastern Ruhrgebiet north of the River Ruhr in the southwest of the region and
400-830: The west it is bordered by the hills of the Baumberge (up to 188 m) and the Schöppingen Ridge (up to 158 m) to the northwest and the Haltern Hills (up to 154 m - Hohe Mark , Borkenberge and Haard ) to the southwest, the Baumberge and Schöppingen Ridge being included in Kernmünsterland, whilst the Haltern Hills are part of Westmünsterland. Another ridge, the Beckum Hills (up to 174 m) to
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