Niederlausitzer Heidelandschaft

The Lower Lusatian Heath Nature Park (german: Naturpark Niederlausitzer Heidelandschaft) is a nature park and reserve in the state of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It covers an area of 490 km² (189 sq mi). It was established on May 24, 1996. In the south, where Brandenburg's oldest landscape is found, the area was formed approximately 180,000 years ago at the end of the

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

, with its glacial valley. Among the ice-age deposits are massive coal layers. After extensive mining in the last hundred years, the landscapes has developed a unique and in some parts, a bizarre appearance. In many places are valuable specialized habitats for animals and plants. Nature parks in Brandenburg Protected areas established in 1996 {{Europe-protected-area-stub