The West Eifel () refers to that part of the

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

mountains in Germany that is centred on the town of

Prüm Prüm () is a town in the Westeifel (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Prüm (Verbandsgemeinde), Prüm. Geography Prüm lies o ...

and reaches as far as the border with

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. It is not geographically precisely defined however, overlapping by about 60% with the

Schnee Eifel The Schnee Eifel is a heavily wooded landscape in Germany's Central Uplands, up to , that forms part of the western Eifel in the area of the German-Belgian border. The name may have been derived in the 19th century from the Schneifel chain of ...

), whilst

geologically Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

its northern half is part of the

Vulkaneifel Vulkaneifel () is a district (''Kreis'') in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the least densely populated district in the state and the fourth most sparsely populated district in Germany. The administrative centre of ...

and its southern half part of the

South Eifel The South Eifel () refers to that part of the Eifel mountain region around the Bitburg-Prüm district in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is bordered to the south and southeast by the river Moselle, to the northwest by the Schnee Eifel ...

. The grassy summits are somewhat higher than those of the Vulkan Eifel, but are generally more rounded and less rugged. Geographically and topologically it can be divided into three regions: *

Schneifel The Schneifel is a range of low mountains, up to , in the western part of the Eifel in Germany, near the Belgian border. It runs from Brandscheid near Prüm in a northeasterly direction to Ormont. The name Schneifel has nothing to do with the G ...

(Schwarzer Mann 697 m), a ridge near the Belgian border *

Belgian Eifel The Belgian Eifel (, Luxembourgish: ''Belscher Äifel'') in the German-speaking part of Belgium generally refers to the southern part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, German-speaking community which forms the Canton of Sankt Vith (Germ ...

(not a uniformly used term) * Islek (in the southwest), up to the German-Luxembourg border. The region is only sparsely populated in the north (~Schneifel), but is crossed by Autobahn 60 (to

Malmedy Malmedy (; , historically also ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a population dens ...

). It is heavily wooded and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

is of some importance (see Bleialf). In the southern parts—in the valley of the

and its

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

—there is greater settlement and a degree of non-local traffic on the South Eifel Holiday Route (''Ferienstraße Südeifel'') and the Eifel-Ardennes Green Road (''Grüne Straße Eifel-Ardennen''). The area is part of the German-Luxembourg Nature Park.

Literature and external links

* ''Deutsche Generalkarte'' 1:200.000, Blatt 12 (Germany: General Map, Sheet 12)
Mineral finds in Bleialf

Luxembourg Earth science portal
{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Regions of the Eifel Ardennes Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate Areas of Belgium Regions of Wallonia Regions of Luxembourg German-speaking Community of Belgium Geography of Liège Province

See also

Literature and external links