Geographical Features : Germany

Germany has an extraordinary variety of charming landscapes. Low and high mountain ranges intermingle with upland plains, terrace country, hilly regions and lakelands as well as wide, open lowlands. From north to south Germany is divided into five regions with different topographical features: the North German Plain, the Central Upland Range, the terrace panorama of the southwest, the Alpine foothills in the south and the Bavarian Alps.

In the north are dry, sandy lowlands with many lakes as well as heaths and moors. There is also the fertile land stretching southward to the Central Upland Range. These lowland penetrations include the Lower Rhenish Bight, the Westphalian Bight and the Saxon-Thuringian Bight. The marshes along the North Sea coast extend as far as the geest. Characteristic features of the Baltic Sea coastline are in Schleswig-Holstein the fjords, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the lakes and the counterbalancing coastline. The main islands in the North Sea are the East Frisian Islands, among them Borkum and Norderney, the North Frisian Islands of Amrum, Fohr and Sylt (and the Halligen), as well as Helgoland in the Helgoland Bight. Situated in Ihe Baltic Sea are the islands of Rugen, Hiddensee and Fehmarn. Some parts of the Baltic coast have flat, sandy shores; others have steep cliffs. Between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea lies the low-hill country called “Holsteinische Schweiz” (Holstein Switzerland).