The Wittlich Depression ( or ''Wittlicher Rotliegend-Senke''), less commonly, the Wittlich Basin, is the continuation of the Trier Valley in a northeasterly direction. It is not only recognisable in the terrain as an elongated depression, but also from its geological structure as a basin. From 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 ...

perspective, the Wittlich Depression (252) is one of three major units of the

Moselle Valley The Moselle Valley (, ; , ) is a region in north-eastern France, south-western Germany, and eastern Luxembourg, centred on the river valley formed by the river Moselle. The Moselle runs through, and along the borders of, the three countries, and ...

major unit group Moseltal (25). The ''Wittlich Depression Cycleway'' (''Radweg Wittlicher Senke'') runs through the region.

Geography

The Wittlich Depression runs for about 45 kilometres from

Schweich Schweich is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Moselle, approx. northeast of Trier. Schweich is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Schweich an der R ...

in the southwest almost to the

River Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgiu ...

northeast of

Wittlich Wittlich (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Wittlech'') is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany, the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district. Its historic town centre and the beauty of the sur ...

. At its widest point it is about 7 kilometres across. Its average height is about , its lowest point is near Wengerohr in the vicinity of Wittlich and on the Lieser, a tributary of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) 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 joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. The depression is bounded to the northwest by the

Meulenwald The Meulenwald, also called the Mühlenwald, is a bunter sandstone hill ridge, up to , in the southern part of the Eifel mountains in the counties of Trier-Saarburg and Bernkastel-Wittlich in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Geography ...

forest, to the southeast by the

Moselle Hills The Moselle Hills () form a ridge, up to , on the left bank of the river Moselle between Reil and Schweich in the Rhineland-Palatinate counties of Bernkastel-Wittlich and Trier-Saarburg. There are vineyards on the southern slopes of the wooded hi ...

and to the east by the

Kondelwald The Kondelwald, also known as the Kondel, is a forest, about 2,500 hectares in area and up to , that forms part of the Moselle Eifel. It lies within the counties of Bernkastel-Wittlich and Cochem-Zell in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. I ...

. The Wittlich Depression is drained by the Lieser and its tributaries. The jointed rocks below the surface hold a larger amount of groundwater than the area around the depression. The climate is similar to the mild conditions of the Moselle Valley. Due to its sheltered location,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

is grown in the valley.

Natural regions

The Wittlich Depression is divided into the following natural regions: * ''(to 25 -

'') ** 251 Wittlich Depression *** 251.0 '' Southwestern Wittlich Depression'' **** 251.00 Föhren Kuppen Land (between

Föhren Föhren is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, 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 a ...

und Bekond) **** 251.01 Hetzerath Plateau (around Hetzerath) *** 251.1 '' Central Wittlich Depression'' **** 251.10 Sehlem Salm Valley ( Salm from Rivenich to

Salmtal Salmtal is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It became well known countrywide for the football cl ...

) **** 251.11 Dreis Valley (between

Dreis Dreis is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geog ...

and Wittlich) **** 251.12 Wittlich Valley (

and the regions west-northwest and south-southwest:
Lieser from Wittlich to Platten; northeast to Bausendorf) *** 251.2 Klausen Hill Country (from Klausen to south of Wittlich) *** 251.3 Bausendorf Alf Valley ( Alf valley from

Bausendorf Bausendorf (also known locally as ''Bausendorf-Olkenbach'') is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. ...

to below Bengel)

References

Interaktiver Kartendienst
un
Beschreibungen
der Naturschutzverwaltung Rhineland-Palatinate Exact natural regional name unknown.

Literature

* * * Landesamt für Geologie und Bergbau Rhineland-Palatinate (Hrsg.): ''Geologie von Rhineland-Palatinate.'' E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, 2005, .

External links

Flächennutzungsplan Wittlich, Erläuterungsbericht
''Böden der Wittlicher Senke.''
Universität Trier

{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate Regions of the Eifel Natural regions of the Central Uplands