Eastern Upper Lusatia (; ) is a natural region in Saxony and, in a broader sense, part of the Western

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

range including the

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

. The current Saxon division of natural regions view the region as part of the

Saxon Loess Fields The Saxon Loess Fields () refer to a natural region that lies mainly within the state of Saxony in central Germany. In addition, small areas of this region extend to the northwest and west into Saxony-Anhalt (the land around Weißenfels), to the so ...

and divides it into 12 subdivisions at the level of meso-geochores.

Location and boundaries

Eastern Upper Lusatia runs in a north-south direction between the towns of

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

and

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

. In the north it borders on the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape (''Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichgebiet''), in the south on the

Zittau Mountains The Zittau Mountains (, ; ), formerly also called the Lusatian Ridge (''Lausitzer Kamm''; ''Łužiski česak''), refer to the German part of the Lusatian Mountains that straddle the Saxony, Saxon-Bohemian border in the extreme southeast of the ...

, in the west on the Upper Lusatian Gefilde (''Oberlausitzer Gefilde'') and the Upper Lusatian Highlands. Its eastern part is bisected by the

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

and lies in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Geographical features of particular note in the region are the

Königshain Hills The Königshain Hills (, Upper Sorbian: ''Limas'') lie in Eastern Upper Lusatia west of the town of Görlitz in the Landkreis Görlitz, county of the same name. They are located north and south of the village of Königshain after which they ar ...

, the Neiße valley and the old mining landscapes south of Görlitz and in the Zittau Basin.

Natural region divisions

The Eastern Upper Lusatia is divided as follows into mesogeochores and microgeochores and hills: * 12 ''Eastern Upper Lusatia'' ** 11002 Zittau Basin (65.04 km²) *** Hirschfeld Neiße Valley *** Olbersdorf Ridge *** Northern Zittau Basin *** Southern Zittau Basin *** Zittau Neiße and Mandau Valley *** Olbersdorf Open-Cast Mine (Olbersdorfer See) ** 11003 Großschönau Basin and Kuppenland (60.97 km² in SN; continues into Czechia) *** Spitzkunnersdorf Kuppen Region (in CZ: Varnsdorfský Špičák 544.3 m; Hofebusch and Richterberg (469.3 m), Lindeberg 459.3 m Forstenberg 454.8 m, Pfaffenberg 418.1 m, Wiedeberg 396.6 m) *** Seifhennersdorf Kuppen Region (border region of the otherwise entirely Czech southeastern part of the Lusatian Highlands; Frenzelsberg 468.2 m) *** Oberoderwitz Kuppen Region (Oberoderwitzer Spitzberg 510.0 m, Großer Stein 471 m, Hofeberg 413.6 m) *** Großschönau Basin (z. T. in Tschechien); Finkenhübel 410;6 m, Hutberg (371.5 m) *** Bertsdorf Kuppen Region (Steinberg 442.5 m, Seidelsberg 433.4 m) *** Hainewald Kuppen Region (Pocheberg 465.8 m, Scheibeberg 422.7 m) ***

Breiteberg The Breiteberg is a hill in the Lusatian Highlands in Free State of Saxony, Federal Republic of Germany, with an altitude of above mean sea level. It is the local mountain of Hainewalde, and about half-an-hour's drive from the village. Phonolit ...

Kuppe (510.1 m) *** Bertsdorf Basin ** 11004 Großhennersdorf Loess Hills (100.83 km²) *** Loess Plateau of Klosterwald *** Großhennersdorf Loess Plateau ***

Sonnenhübel Sonnenhübel () is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. I ...

Kuppe (469.3 m) *** Niederoderwitz Kuppen Region (Pferdeberg 405.5 m, Hutberg 404.5 m) *** Neundorfer Loess Plateau *** Loess Plateau of Sonnenhübel *** Oberoderwitz Loess Plateau *** Wittgendorf Loess Hills (Buchberg 401.1 m,

Steinberg Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH (trading as Steinberg; ) is a German musical software and hardware company based in Hamburg. It develops software for writing, recording, arranging and editing music, most notably Cubase, Nuendo, and Dorico. It ...

353.1 m, Schlegelberg 352.6 m) *** Dittersbach Loess Hills (Knorrberg 380,5 m) *** Oderwitzer Loess Plateau *** Großhennersdorf Kuppen Region ( Großer Berg 439.2 m, Schönbrunner Berg 428.7 m, Schanzberg 408.0 m, Langer Berg 371.8 m,

Eisberg Eisberg may refer to: * Eisberg (Lusatian Highlands), a mountain of Saxony, Germany * Eisberg (Moosbach), a mountain of Bavaria, Germany * Eisberg (Reiter Alpe), a mountain of Bavaria, Germany * Eisberg (Stölzinger Hills), a hill in Hesse, Germany ...

330,6 m) ** 11005 Loess Ridge bei Hirschfelde (19.51 km²) *** Ridge of the Klosterwald (Mitterer Steinberg 345.9 m) *** Dittelsdorf Loess Riedel *** Neiße Valley near St. Marienthal ** 11006 Neugersdorf Loess Ridge (50,14 km² in SN; partly in Czechia) *** Seifhennersdorf Ridge (partly in Czechia) *** Neugersdorfer FlachRidgegebiet (partly in Czechia) *** Eibau-Leutersdorfer Ridgegebiet (partly in Czechia); Lerchenberg 466.7 m, Wacheberg (452 m) ** 11007 Ruppersdorfer Loess Plateaux (34.78 km²) *** Obercunnersdorfer Loess Plateau *** Ruppersdorfer DeckLoess Plateau (Fuchsberg 362.0 m) *** Euldorfer Loess Plateau ** 11008 Herrnhuter Loess Hills (60,62 km²) ***

Löbauer Berg The Löbauer Berg (, ) is an extinct volcano and, with a height of , the Hausberg or local hill of the eponymous town of Löbau in the county of Görlitz in southeastern Saxony. It is covered in mixed mountain woodland consisting of common oak, h ...

- Schafberg Ridge (447.9 m und 450,5 m) *** Herrnhut Hills ( Hutberg 371.9 m, Heinrichberg 357.1 m, Eichler 333.5 m, Roter Berg 331.1 m) *** Strahwalder Bergkuppen (Wolfsberg 445.1 m; Jäckelberg 395.3 m,Actually the 395.3 m high main summit according to maps – like the clearly well known neighbour in the north – is called the ''Schafberg'' and the Jäckelberg at 388.5 m and the ''Jäckelbaude'' is only the northern top. Locally the hill is better known as the ''Jäckelberg''. Sonneberg 392.6 m) *** Berthelsdorf Valley Riedel *** Kemnitz Loess Hills ** 11009 Loess plateaux on the Eigen (43.67 km²) *** Loess Plateau of Großer Nonnenwald *** Altbernsdorf Loess Plateau *** Loess Plateau of Kleiner Nonnenwald *** Kiesdorf Loess Plateau (Großer Hutberg 308.0 m, Kleiner Hutberg 298.0 m) ** 11010 Neiße Valley near Görlitz (33.20 km²) *** Görlitz Neiße Valley *** Berzdorf Open-Cast Mine (

Berzdorfer See The Berzdorfer See or Lake Berzdorf is located at the southern city limits of Görlitz in Upper Lusatia. It consists of the residual hole of the former Berzdorf open-cast lignite mine, which was flooded from 2002 to the beginning of 2013. The lake ...

) *** Ostritz Neiße Valley ** 11011 Görlitz Loess Plateaux (105.44 km²) *** Girbigsdorf Loess Plateau *** Pfaffendorf Loess Plateau *** Kunnewitz Incline *** Holtendorf Loess Plateau ***

Landeskrone The Landeskrone (German language, German name; named in Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbian) is a hill in Upper Lusatia that is known as the ''Hausberg'' or "local hill" of the town of Görlitz. It is situated in eastern Saxony, Germany, close ...

-Biesnitz Kuppen Region (up to 420.0 m) *** Town of Görlitz *** Kunnersdorf Kuppen Region *** Gersdorf Loess Plateau *** Emmerichswald Plateau ** 11012 Reichenbach Loess Hills (79.14 km²) *** Rotstein Ridge (Rotstein 453.7 m, Hengstberg 421.3 m, Georgenberg 396.5 m, Horkenberg 331.9 m; on the far side of the railway and B 6: Rosenhainer Berg 307.9 m) *** Sohlander Loess Hills (Paulsdorfer Spitzberg 370,9 m, Heideberg 341.3 m, Steinberg 322.0 m, Silberberg 313.7 m) *** Kleinradmeritz Loess Plateau (Petzschkenberg: 227.5 m, ridge west of Glossen: a good 220 m) *** Reichenbach Loess Hills *** Meuselwitz Loess Hills *** Mengelsdorf Loess Hills *** Friedersdorf Hills (Friedersdorfer Berg 398.7 m, Schwarzer Berg 390,5 m, Kreuzberg 365.6 m) ** 11013 Königshain Hills (66.49 km²) *** Hills of Liebstein (Liebsteiner Berg: 294.6 m) *** Niesky-Rengersdorf Slate Hills (Heideberg: 249.9 m) *** Eichberg- Hutberg Ridge (up to 345.6 m; western

) *** Arnsdorf Loess Hills, Königshainer Loess Hills *** Hochstein-Kämpferberg Ridge (397.2 m und 415 m; Königshain Hills) ;Notes:

Landscape and geology

The natural region is very varied and characterized by hill ranges, isolated hills, plateau and basins alongside one another. Ice age

ground moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

s, meltwater sands and the overlying

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

soils fill out the

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

relief to varying degrees. The loess loam is generally only about 1 to 1.5 m thick. As witnesses to the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...

of the area there are

lava plain A lava field, sometimes called a lava bed, is a large, mostly flat area of lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of kilometers across the underlying terrain. Morph ...

s and isolated hills of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

and

phonolite Phonolite is an uncommon shallow intrusive or extrusive rock, of intermediate chemical composition between felsic and mafic, with texture ranging from aphanitic (fine-grained) to porphyritic (mixed fine- and coarse-grained). Phonolite is a var ...

. In the Zittau and Oderwitz Basin, as well as the Berzdorf Basin there are important deposits of

brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

in the sediments. Climatically Eastern Upper Lusatia lies partially in the lee of the Upper Lusatian Highlands. For example, onlyr 665 mm of precipitation falls annually. The average annual temperature lies between 8 and 8.6 °C. The potential natural vegetation here is Wood Bedstraw-

Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

forest with Small-leaved Limes.

References

Bibliography

* Mannsfeld, K. und Syrbe, R.-U. (eds.): ''Naturräume in Sachsen'' mit Kartenbeilage "Naturräumliche Gliederung Sachsens", in: ''Forschungen zur deutschen Landeskunde'' (Vol. 257), Deutsche Akademie für Landeskunde, Selbstverlag, Leipzig, 2008,

External links

Large scale division, subdivisions and overview map
as part of the Upper Lusatia-Lower Silesia planning region, retrieved 11 March 2012 {{Authority control Natural regions of Saxony Upper Lusatia Sudetes