The Middle Rhine Basin (german: Mittelrheinische Becken) is the central landscape region of the

Middle Rhine Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the river Rhine flows as the Middle Rhine (german: Mittelrhein) through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at ...

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 betwe ...

and, along with the

Limburg Basin The Limburg Basin (german: Limburger Becken) is one of the two large intramontane lowland areas within the Rhenish Massif in Germany, the other being the Middle Rhine Basin. It forms the central part of the natural region of the Gießen-Koblenz L ...

, forms one of the biggest intra-montane lowland regions within the

Rhenish Massif The Rhenish Massif, Rhine Massif or Rhenish Uplands (german: Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, : 'Rhenish Slate Uplands') is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. It is drained centrally, south to n ...

. The basin is divided into the valley bottom of the

Neuwied Basin Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am ...

, the Neuwied Basin Perimeter east of the Rhine and the Lower Moselle Valley west of the Rhine in the south, and the Maifeld-Pellenz Hills in the north. The basin is bounded on the east of the Rhine in the northeast and east by the slopes of the

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...

and, on the west of the Rhine, from north to southwest by the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

mountains, and in the southeast by the valley of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

above

Moselkern Moselkern is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Cochem. Geograp ...

. Its mild winters and dry climate enable intensive agriculture, which is why the landscape has few woods.

Natural regions

The

Handbook of Natural Region Divisions of Germany The ''Handbook of Natural Region Divisions of Germany'' (german: Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands) was a book series resulting from a project by the former German Federal Institute for Regional Studies ('' Bundesanstalt für La ...

groups the Middle Rhine Basin within major unit group 29, the Middle Rhine Region, but classifies it as a major unit in its own right (no. 291) and subdivides it into the following sub-units: * 291.0 Neuwied Rhine Valley Bottom (Rhine Valley) * 291.1 Neuwied Basin Perimeter (east of the Rhine) ** 291.10 Hüllenberg Terrace ** 291.11 Wollendorf-Gladbach Basin Slopes ** 291.12 Ehrenbreitstein Terrace * 291.2 Maifeld-Pellenz Hills (west of the Rhine) ** 291.20 Andernach-Koblenz Terrace Hills ''in wider sense'' (west of the Rhine) *** 291.200 Andernach-Koblenz Terrace Hills ''in narrower sense'' (west of the Rhine and Moselle) *** 291.201 Koblenz Moselle Valley *** 291.202 Karthause (right of the Moselle and west of the Rhine) ** 291.21

Karmelenberg The Karmelenberg is a wooded cinder cone that was formed by volcanic activity. It marks the southeastern end of the East Eifel volcano field and rises to a height of , about 170 metres above the Pellenz region, and is visible from a long way off ...

Heights (clearly west of the Rhine) ** 291.22 Pellenz Lowlands and Uplands (clearly west of the Rhine) *** 291.220 Pellenz Volcanoes *** 291.221 Pellenz Basin *** 291.222 Pellenz Heights ** 291.23 Lower Maifeld (west of the Rhine) *** 291.230 Lower Maifeld Basin *** 291.231 Lower Maifeld Terrace *** 291.232 Lower Maifeld Heights ** 291.24 Upper Maifeld (west) ** 291.25 Mayen Bowl (west) * 291.3 Lower Moselle Valley (west of the Rhine) ** 291.30 Dieblicherberg Terrace (right of the Moselle) ** 291.31 Lower Moselle Valley BasinSheet 138 Koblenz uses on the map the number 291.3 for the Lower Moselle Valley omitting the subunit 291.30. (

from

Lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

)

Neuwied Basin

This lowland area, also called the ''Koblenz-Neuwied Basin'', which lies between the towns of

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

and

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

runs for a distance of c. 22 river kilometres along the Rhine and separates the narrow valley of

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...

from that of the

. Due to its fertile soils, the Neuwied Basin has been settled from the earliest times. The countryside is today characterised as much by intensive fruit growing as industrial sites. The urban area of the Neuwied Basin has a population of about 300,000.

Cities and towns

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

Bendorf Bendorf () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Koblenz. Structure of the town The town consists of the following districts: *Bendorf *Sayn *Mülhofen *St ...

Mülheim-Kärlich Mülheim-Kärlich is a town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Weißenthurm. It is situated west of Koblenz, a few km from the Rhine. It is the site ...

Vallendar Vallendar is a town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. 4 km north-east of Koblenz. Vallendar is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipali ...

Weißenthurm Weißenthurm is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite Neuwied, approximately 12 km northwest of Koblenz. The town is spelled with an ß which may be ...

Maifeld

This southwestern part of the Middle Rhine Basin is particularly striking due to its gently rolling hills. It is bounded by the river valleys of the

(southeast) and Elz (southwest), which cut deeply into the hill country; its northwest border is partly formed by the

Nette Nette can refer to: Rivers * Nette (Innerste), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Innerste * Nette (Hase), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Hase * Nette (Middle Rhine), a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, tr ...

. This regions is mainly utilised for agriculture. The soils are considered particularly fertile. Towns in the Maifeld are

Polch Polch () is a town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Maifeld. It is situated east of Mayen. Polch is twinned with the commune of Vineuil, located n ...

(seat of the

Verbandsgemeinde of Maifeld Maifeld is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated south-east of Mayen, and west of Koblenz. The seat of the municipality is in Polch. The ''Verbandsgemeinde ...

in the county of

Mayen-Koblenz Mayen-Koblenz is a district (''Kreis'') in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler, Neuwied (district), Neuwied, Westerwaldkreis, district-free Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn ...

, but strictly speaking in the

Pellenz The Pellenz is a hill country in the northwestern part of the Middle Rhine Basin in Germany between Mayen in the southwest and Andernach in the northeast. In addition Pellenz is the name of a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' in the state of Rhineland-Palat ...

) and

Münstermaifeld Münstermaifeld () is a town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Maifeld. It is situated south-east of Mayen, a few kilometres from the Moselle riv ...

Pellenz

This hill country forms the northwestern part of the basin between

Mayen Mayen is a town in the Mayen-Koblenz District of the Rhineland-Palatinate Federal State of Germany, in the eastern part of the Volcanic Eifel Region. As well as the main town, additional settlements include Alzheim, Kürrenberg, Hausen-Betzing, ...

and

. It is characterized by agriculture and

open-cast mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...

(

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular vol ...

and

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

sand) and the associated building materials industry. The river Nette flows through the hilly landscape which slopes gently from west to east towards the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and separates it from the

Maifeld The Maifeld is a landscape (a natural region sub-unit) of the Middle Rhine Basin on its western perimeter with the Eifel mountains, southwest of the city of Koblenz. It is known for its gently rolling hills. Location The plain, which lies at a ...

References

Heinz Fischer, Richard Graafen: ''Geographische Landesaufnahme: Die naturräumlichen Einheiten auf Blatt 136/137 Cochem.'' Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Bad Godesberg 1974. →&nbs
Online-Karte
(PDF; 5,6 MB) Heinrich Müller-Miny, Martin Bürgener: ''Geographische Landesaufnahme: Die naturräumlichen Einheiten auf Blatt 138 Koblenz.'' Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Bad Godesberg 1971. →&nbs
Online-Karte
(PDF; 5,7 MB)

General sources

Bundesamt für Naturschutz The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (german: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, ''BfN'') is the German government's scientific authority with responsibility for national and international nature conservation. BfN is one of the government's ...

*
Kartendienste
** Landschaftssteckbriefe **

**

*** ttp://www.bfn.de/0311_landschaft.html?landschaftid=29103 Unteres Moseltal

Literature

* Frauke Gränitz et al. (eds.), ''Das Mittelrheinische Becken. Eine landeskundliche Bestandsaufnahme im Raum Andernach, Bendorf, Koblenz, Mayen, Mendig, Münstermaifeld und Neuwied'' (Vol. 65 of the series " Landschaften in Deutschland"), Cologne/Weimar/Vienna: Böhlau, 2003, (grundlegende geographische Bestandsaufnahme) {{Authority control Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate Rhenish Massif Mayen-Koblenz Koblenz Neuwied (district) ! Middle Rhine Basin Middle Rhine Basins of Germany