The Rahden-Diepenau Geest () is a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

in the extreme northeast of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

and in the neighbouring state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

in north

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. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It includes the overwhelmingly gently rolling

geest Geest (, , ) is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outw ...

between the Lübbecker Lößland to the south, the

Diepholz Moor Depression The Diepholz Moor Depression''Stemwede: Oppenweher Moor''
Retrieved ...

to the north, the

Middle Weser Valley The Middle Weser Valley () is part of the Weser Depression around the River Weser on the North German Plain, extending from the gap of Porta Westfalica to the town of Hoya. It is not a true valley, because it is only bordered by low hills at two ...

to the east and the western

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

and Bersenbrück Land to the west. The Rahden-Diepenau Geest is part of the Dümmer Geest Depression and thus belongs to the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland () is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany's ...

, although they include foothills of the

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (N.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ''-gebirge'' = "range").) ...

in the shape of the Stemmer Berge.

Political divisions

In the North Rhine-Westphalian district of

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Nienburg (district), Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford (district), Herford, Osnabr ...

, the municipalities of

Espelkamp Espelkamp () is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Espelkamp is situated approximately 10 kilometers north of Lübbecke and 20 kilometers north-west of Minden. The is located on the site of a ...

, and most of

Rahden Rahden is a town in the far north of North Rhine-Westphalia between Bielefeld and Bremen and between Hanover and Osnabrück. Rahden is part of the Minden-Lübbecke District in East Westphalia-Lippe. Rahden was first mentioned in 1033, and from 1 ...

and

Stemwede Stemwede (; ) is a municipality in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Following a recent regional reorganization, in 1973, the former districts of Dielingen-Wehdem and Levern were consolidated and the district of "S ...

as well as part of

Hille Hille may refer to: Places *Hille (Belgium), a hamlet *Hille, Germany, a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany *Hille, Agder, an island in Lindesnes municipality in Agder county, Norway Other uses * ...

and

Petershagen Petershagen is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the Westphalian Mill Route. The core is formed by the districts of Petershagen and Lahde, located opposite each other on the Weser. Geography ...

lie within this region. In the Lower Saxon district of Nienburg the region contains most of the municipalities of Diepenau and Warmsen and smaller elements of Raddestorf, and in the district of

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

, most of

Bohmte Bohmte is a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte, approx. 20 km northeast of Osnabrück. The foundation of today's Bohmte is a result of the regional reorganization of 19 ...

lies within the geest region.

Sources

* Meynen, Emil (Ed.): ''Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands.'' Selbstverlag der Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen 1959-1962 (Teil 2, enthält Lieferung 6-9).

External links

BfN Landscape fact file
{{Coord, 52.398648, N, 8.609848, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NW, format=dms, display=title Geest Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia Minden-Lübbecke