Germany as a whole can be divided into three major geographic regions namely: The low-lying (Northern German plains, the central German uplands, or Hercynian Highlands and the Southern uplands or Central Alpine uplands.

The Northern Lowlands

These areas are also known as the North German plains. In the North Germany plains, the height above sea level rarely goes beyond 210 metres above sea level. This is an area almost covered by sedimentary rocks that are geologically young rocks.

There are large deposits of alluvium morain and loess. Alluvium is the soil deposited by rivers, moraine is deposited by glaciers while loess is deposited by wind.

The North Germany plain is divided into three regions namely: Marschen, Geestlands and Borderlands.

Geestlands

This area is further in land and it is characterized by soils which are sandy in nature containing little organic material or mineral nutrients to help make the soil fertile.

The Geestlands are as a result of glacial material deposited after the melting and retreating of the ice-sheets.

The region supports natural vegetation especially oak forests which however have been cleared for agriculture and settlement.

Parts of this region consists of poorer lands covered by heath suitable only for sheep rearing. These lands are popularly known as Heathlands.

Bordelands

These are the most fertile lands. They have loess and loamy soils apart from containing deposits of potash, iron ore, and coal. The region also specializes in the production of wheat, dairy products or sugar beet.

Farming in the region is intensive. The region extends southwards as far as Sauerland hills and down into the Rhine valley as far as Bonn. Market gardening is a common feature in this region.

North Germany, drained by the Ems, Weser, Elbe, and Oder rivers, is heavily farmed, despite poor soil; crops include wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, and sugar beets.

Dairy cattle are widely raised, especially in Schleswig-Holstein; pork, beef, and chicken are other livestock products.

The region also includes the major industry and transportation centres of Kiel, Rostock Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, and Magdeburg as well as Berlin.

The Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain region located in southwestern Germany. Its name derives from the large stands of fir trees that are found on its upper slopes. Although the area is a favorite spot for recreational activities such as hiking, air pollution has caused major problems. It is estimated that more than half the trees in the Black Forest have been damaged as a result of acid rain.

Marschen

This refers to reclaimed land from the North Sea. This piece of land is covered by nutritive pastures which have encouraged rearing of dairy and beef cattle. This area is also important for Arable farming especially growing wheat, potatoes and market gardening to supply the residents of Hamburg and Bremen.

Central Highlands (Hercynian Uplands)

These are eroded areas of the former Hercynian Fold Mountains. Hercynian refers to the mountain of that period that occurred about 270 million years ago. These are remnants of the mountains of this period. However, the Alpine Mountain building period caused a slight uplift of the lands.

"The central uplands have also been subdivided by river erosion resulting from the river Rhine and tributaries like Moselle, Main and Lahn.

These rivers continued to flow during the Tertiary period of uplift and thus spent most of their energy cutting vertically downwards in order to maintain their original basin level. The consequence of this has been to give the Rhine valley a steep-sided gorge - like appearance where it flows through the Hercynian Blocks. The Southern part of central Uplands includes:

The central uplands also include the Rhenish oiats and Harz Mts. and the Thuringian Forest. The Rhine River runs through Germany and between Bingen and Bonn, flows through a steep gorge, famous for its scenery, vineyards, and castles.

Along the northern rim of the Rhenish Slate Mts. lies Germany's chief mining and industrial region, which includes the Ruhr and Saar basins and takes in the cities of Dusseldorf, Duisburg, krefeld, Essen, Wuppertal, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, and Dortmund.

In the east, industrial centers are located along and near the Elbe River and its tributaries. The major cities include Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, Mails, and Erfurt.

The southern section of the Rhineland, which contains the Eifel and Hunsruck mts., is largely agricultural and has famous vineyards, especially in the Moselle valley.

 

Germany: Physical features, cities and Water bodies

 

The Southern Highlands (Alpine Forelands)

This area has the highest mountains in Germany and appears as a continuation of the Alpine Mountain system in Switzerland. However, the Alps in Germany is lower than those in Switzerland.

It is an important tourist area. The soils are generally infertile but at least crops like rye, oats and barley are commonly grown. Wheat is not grown in this region apart from the rift valley.

The southern part of Germany is drained by the Darnne, Ilier, Lech, tsar, Inn, Neckar, and Main rivers.

 
Zugspitze, Germany
Zugspitze, located in the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany, is the country's highest peak. At a height of 2,962 m (9,718 ft), it is easily reached by cable car. At the summit are a weather station, hotels, and cafés.

Rising to the Zugsptze (9,721 ft/2,963 m) in the Bavarian Alps, the highest point in Germany, it consists of plateaus and forested mountains, for example, the Black Forest, the highlands of Swabia, and the Bohemian Forest. Lake Constance, in the Alps, is a popular tourist area. Notable agricultural products of the region are fruits, wheat, barley and dairy goods. Important industrial centers in this region include;

• Munich,
• Frankfurt,
• Augsburg,
• Nuremberg,
• Stuttgart and Karlsruhe.

 

Drainage

Germany is well drained with rivers. These include the Rhine, Ruhr, Maim, Neckar, Leppe, Ems, Misselle, and Danube, Latin, Elbe and others.

The Rhine drains into the North Sea. River Danube drains the southern region originating from central uplands and southern uplands.

It flows eastwards through Austria and empties its water into the black sea. Ems River has its source from the central uplands and flows northwards into the North Sea. River Weser also originates from central uplands into the North Sea. River Elb originates from Central Uplands and flows westwards into the North Sea.

 
Elbe's Sandstone Mountain
Germany's Elbe River passes through a series of dramatic narrow channels south of the city of Dresden, where a medieval fortress tops a sandstone mountain. This area, near the Elbe, has become a national park since German unification in 1990.