Flint fields (german: Feuersteinfelder) are large natural deposits of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

. They are found in numerous Jurassic and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

beds A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

across the whole of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

.''Breege''
at www.ruegenurlaub.de. Retrieved 19 Jun 2019 Such deposits may be found in Aachen-Lousberg, Kleinkems, Schernfeld, Osterberg bei Pfünz,

Baiersdorf Baiersdorf is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in northern Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The major part of Baiersdorf is idyllically situated on a terrace which preserves the town from being flooded by the close Regnitz rive ...

, Abensberg- Arnhofen and Lengfeld as well as the German island of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

Flint fields on Rügen

The flint fields on Germany's biggest island, Rügen, between Mukran and

Prora The Colossus of Prora, commonly known as simply "Prora", is a building complex in the municipality of Binz on the island of Rügen, Germany. It was built by Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1939 as part of the Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch F ...

in the northern part of the heath of

Schmale Heide The Schmale Heide (literally "Narrow Heath") is a 9.5-kilometre-long and roughly 2-kilometre-wide bar between the Baltic seaside resort of Binz and the village of Neu Mukran near Sassnitz on the German island of Rügen. It lies in the municipali ...

are part of the Stone Fields in the Schmale Heath and Extension nature reserve. They were also called the ''Steinernes Meer'' ("stony sea") and have an area of 40 hectares (2,000 × 200 metres). During a series of

storm flood A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the no ...

s, 3,500 to 4,000 years ago, the stones, from the Cretaceous deposits on the Jasmund peninsula which had been broken up by the sea, were piled up here. The layer of flints is so thick that it does not allow more than a sparse vegetation layer. In 1840 the ''Schmale Heide'' was planted with a pine wood, which surrounds the flint fields today. Since 1935, when the region was given

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

status, many trees, bushes and other plant species have been able to develop undisturbed. By the middle of the 19th century and, for the last time in the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, attempts were made to protect the 14 open flint embankments from becoming overgrown, using perimeter fencing in places and introducing wildlife. The flint fields are a well-known tourist destination (). They cannot be accessed directly by car. Car travellers can park for a fee in the car park at the southern end of Neu Mukran and follow the two to three kilometre trail. The area can be reached by bicycle also from the south. The route to the southern end of the flint fields is a well maintained and picturesque woodland path which branches off () the old B 196a federal road immediately north of the caravan park (former traffic testing area). The nearest railway stop is Prora, around 2½ kilometres south of the area and five hundred metres south of the traffic testing area.

References

External links

{{Commonscat-inline, Flint fields Flint (rock) de:Feuersteinfelder