The Black Mountains (german: Schwarze Berge) are part of the

High Rhön High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

in Germany, in particular of the

Southern High Rhön The Southern High Rhön (german: Südliche Hochrhön, also ''Südliche Hohe Rhön''Environmental Atlas of Hesse (''Umweltatlas Hessen'')) is a natural region of the 5th level which, together with the Central Rhön, forms the region called the Hi ...

, which lies south of the

Kreuzberg Group The Kreuzberg Group is a small range of low mountains in northern Bavaria, Germany, which is named after its highest peak, the Kreuzberg (928 m). The group is part of the Southern High Rhön, which is in turn part of the High Rhön, a moun ...

and is thus the southernmost part of the High Rhön. Since 1993, most of the region has been protected by the Black Mountain Nature Reserve (''Naturschutzgebiet Schwarze Berge''), the second largest in Bavaria outside of the Alps, in order to counteract its afforestation by coniferous forest.Information about nature conservation
retrieved 12 October 2013

Natural region grouping

The name ''Schwarze Berge'' was defined as a natural region in 1968 as part of the natural regional classification of Germany in the 1960s at a scale of 1:200,000 (Sheet 140 Schweinfurt) and grouped as follows:Brigitte Schwenzer:'' Geographische Landesaufnahme: The Natural Region Units on Sheet 140, Schweinfurt'' - Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Bad Godesberg, 1968 �
online map
(pdf, 4 MB) *''(part of 35

East Hesse Highlands The East Hesse Highlands (german: Osthessisches Bergland) describes a heavily wooded range of hills lying mainly in the German state of Hesse, but also extending a little way into Lower Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east and Bavaria to the s ...

)'' **''(part of 354

)'' ***''(part of 354.0

)'' ****354.01 Black Mountains (''Schwarze Berge'')

Boundaries

In the north is the municipality of

Wildflecken Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772 (US Forces used APO NY 09026 until July 15, 1991, when APO/FPO/ ...

. From there the natural region's boundary with the

runs east-southeast along the valley between the Feuerberg and Kreuzberg in order finally to follow the Kellersbach after the Guckas Pass. North of Langenleiten the boundary runs southwards in order to leave the valleys of the tributaries of the Kleiner Steinach. Continuing westwards, the boundary of the natural region runs through the villages of Platz and Geroda. Between the Kellersbach and Geroda the Black Mountains border on the Adelsberg Forest, part of the Schondra-Thulba-South Rhön, which in turn is part of the Hammelburg South Rhön. The latter is part of the

South Rhön South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*su ...

which in turn belongs to the major natural region unit of Odenwald, Spessart and South Rhön, which is part of the

South German Scarplands The South German Scarplands is a geological and geomorphological natural region or landscape in Switzerland and the south German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The landscape is characterised by escarpments. It is variously referred to ...

and not the Central Uplands. The natural regional boundary with the Brückenau Kuppenrhön, which is part of the Kuppenrhön, follow the Milzbach as it flows north past Schildeck. After its confluence with the Sinn the boundary follows the river downstream heading northwards. North of Oberbach the region is bounded by the

Dammersfeld Ridge The Dammersfeld Ridge (german: Dammersfeldrücken) is a low mountain chain in the High Rhön in Germany, which begins on a line from Bischofsheim to Gersfeld and runs in a southwesterly direction to Riedenberg – Werberg – Maria Ehrenberg. ...

to the west as far as Wildflecken.

Geology

As well as the Black Mountains, the Southern High Rhön also includes the

and the

. All three mountain ridges consist of a basalt shield, which is occasionally intruded, and thus are different from

Long Rhön The Long Rhön (german: Lange Rhön) is a ridge in the Central Rhön which forms part of the High Rhön within the Rhön Mountains. The Long Rhön is an elongated basalt plateau in the centre, roughly 800 metres above sea level, which is only occa ...

and, to a lesser extent, the Wasserkuppenrhön, even if they clearly differ from the individual summits of the Kuppenrhön (see adjacent map). In terms of its rock composition, the region compares to the Kreuzberg Group. The Black Mountains consist of two mountain ridges, which are formed of individual domed summits or '' kuppen''. The

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

is formed of red clays and marls overlaid by rocks of the Lower Muschelkalk. The summits are mostly composed of basalt. In most places the rock s covered by a layer of loam soil.

Mountains

Totnansberg The Totnansberg, occasionally also called the Totmannsberg, is the highest peak in the Black Mountains, a subunit of the Rhön in central Germany. References Mountains under 1000 metres Mountains of Bavaria Mountains and hills of the ...

(839 m; central location; with youth campsite; was named in 1968) * Schwarzenberg (832 m; north of the Totnansberg; with its spur, the Feuerberg, Kissinger Hut and Feuerberglifte ski area) * Erlenberg (826 m; south of the Totnansberg) * Farnsberg (786 m; west of the Totnansberg; Würzburger Haus, Farnsberg recreation area and ski lifts on the Farnsberg) * Löserhag (765 m; in the north; geotope) *

Platzer Kuppe Platzer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Birgit Platzer (born 1993), Austrian luger * Jacob Platzer, Italian luger *Johann Georg Platzer (1704–1761), Austrian painter and draughtsman *Kyle Platzer (born 1995), Canadian hock ...

(737 m; in the south) * Schindküppel (659 m; in the west) * Knörzchen (643 m; in the southwest)

Natural region

The natural region is drained to the east by the

Thulba Thulba is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Franconian Saale The Franconian Saale (german: Fränkische Saale) is a 140 km long river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right-bank tributary of the Main, in Lower Franconia. It shou ...

and Aschach into the

Franconian Saale The Franconian Saale (german: Fränkische Saale) is a 140 km long river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right-bank tributary of the Main, in Lower Franconia. It should not be confused with the larger Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale), whi ...

. No noteworthy streams flow into the Sinn. In 1968, at the time of the publication of Sheet 140 "Schweinfurt", the annual precipitation was 1000–1100 mm, on 90–110 days of the year there was a continuous layer of snow. In addition, extensive pastures characterised the area and there were deciduous woods on the mountainsides. Since then, over half the area has become colonised by coniferous forest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Mountains (Rhon) Mountain ranges of Bavaria Rhön Mountains Natural regions of the East Hesse Highlands Rhön-Grabfeld Bad Kissingen (district)