Eastern Upper Lusatia (german: Östliche Oberlausitz) is a natural region in Saxony and, in a broader sense, part of the Western

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consis ...

range including the

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrz ...

. The current Saxon division of natural regions view the region as part of the

Saxon Loess Fields The Saxon Loess Fields (german: Sächsisches Lössgefilde) refer to a natural region that lies mainly within the state of Saxony in central Germany. In addition, small areas of this region extend to the northwest and west into Saxony-Anhalt (the la ...

and divides it into 12 subdivisions at the level of meso-geochores.

Location and boundaries

Eastern Upper Lusatia runs in a north-south direction between the towns of

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

and

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...

. In the north it borders on the

Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape (also ... District or ... Lake District,Zittau Mountains The Zittau Mountains (german: Zittauer Gebirge, cs, Žitavské hory), formerly also called the Lusatian Ridge (''Lausitzer Kamm''), refer to the German part of the Lusatian Mountains that straddle the Saxon-Bohemian border in the extreme sout ...

, in the west on the Upper Lusatian Gefilde (''Oberlausitzer Gefilde'') and the

Upper Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands''Upper Lusatia''
at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 20 ...

. Its eastern part is bisected by the

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Geographical features of particular note in the region are the

Königshain Hills The Königshain Hills (german: Königshainer Berge, Upper Sorbian: ''Limas'') lie in Eastern Upper Lusatia west of the town of Görlitz in the county of the same name. They are located north and south of the village of Königshain after wh ...

, the Neiße valley and the old mining landscapes south of Görlitz and in the Zittau Basin.

Natural region divisions

The Eastern Upper Lusatia is divided as follows into mesogeochores and microgeochores and hills: * 12 ''Eastern Upper Lusatia'' ** 11002 Zittau Basin (65.04 km²) *** Hirschfeld Neiße Valley *** Olbersdorf Ridge *** Northern Zittau Basin *** Southern Zittau Basin *** Zittau Neiße and Mandau Valley *** Olbersdorf Open-Cast Mine (Olbersdorfer See) ** 11003 Großschönau Basin and Kuppenland (60.97 km² in SN; continues into Czechia) *** Spitzkunnersdorf Kuppen Region (in CZ: Varnsdorfský Špičák 544.3 m; Hofebusch and Richterberg (469.3 m), Lindeberg 459.3 m Forstenberg 454.8 m, Pfaffenberg 418.1 m, Wiedeberg 396.6 m) *** Seifhennersdorf Kuppen Region (border region of the otherwise entirely Czech southeastern part of the Lusatian Highlands; Frenzelsberg 468.2 m) *** Oberoderwitz Kuppen Region (Oberoderwitzer Spitzberg 510.0 m, Großer Stein 471 m, Hofeberg 413.6 m) *** Großschönau Basin (z. T. in Tschechien); Finkenhübel 410;6 m, Hutberg (371.5 m) *** Bertsdorf Kuppen Region (Steinberg 442.5 m, Seidelsberg 433.4 m) *** Hainewald Kuppen Region (Pocheberg 465.8 m, Scheibeberg 422.7 m) *** Breiteberg Kuppe (510.1 m) *** Bertsdorf Basin ** 11004 Großhennersdorf Loess Hills (100.83 km²) *** Loess Plateau of Klosterwald *** Großhennersdorf Loess Plateau *** Sonnenhübel Kuppe (469.3 m) *** Niederoderwitz Kuppen Region (Pferdeberg 405.5 m, Hutberg 404.5 m) *** Neundorfer Loess Plateau *** Loess Plateau of Sonnenhübel *** Oberoderwitz Loess Plateau *** Wittgendorf Loess Hills (Buchberg 401.1 m,

Steinberg Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH (trading as Steinberg) is a German musical software and hardware company based in Hamburg. It develops music writing, recording, arranging, and editing software, most notably Cubase, Nuendo, and Dorico. It als ...

353.1 m, Schlegelberg 352.6 m) *** Dittersbach Loess Hills (Knorrberg 380,5 m) *** Oderwitzer Loess Plateau *** Großhennersdorf Kuppen Region ( Großer Berg 439.2 m, Schönbrunner Berg 428.7 m, Schanzberg 408.0 m, Langer Berg 371.8 m,

Eisberg Eisberg may refer to: *Eisberg (Lusatian Highlands), a mountain of Saxony, Germany *Eisberg (Moosbach), a mountain of Bavaria, Germany *Eisberg (Reiter Alpe), a mountain of Bavaria, Germany *Eisberg (Stölzinger Hills), a hill in Hesse, Germany * "E ...

330,6 m) ** 11005 Loess Ridge bei Hirschfelde (19.51 km²) *** Ridge of the Klosterwald (Mitterer Steinberg 345.9 m) *** Dittelsdorf Loess Riedel *** Neiße Valley near St. Marienthal ** 11006 Neugersdorf Loess Ridge (50,14 km² in SN; partly in Czechia) *** Seifhennersdorf Ridge (partly in Czechia) *** Neugersdorfer FlachRidgegebiet (partly in Czechia) *** Eibau-Leutersdorfer Ridgegebiet (partly in Czechia); Lerchenberg 466.7 m, Wacheberg (452 m) ** 11007 Ruppersdorfer Loess Plateaux (34.78 km²) *** Obercunnersdorfer Loess Plateau *** Ruppersdorfer DeckLoess Plateau (Fuchsberg 362.0 m) *** Euldorfer Loess Plateau ** 11008 Herrnhuter Loess Hills (60,62 km²) *** Löbauer Berg- Schafberg Ridge (447.9 m und 450,5 m) *** Herrnhut Hills ( Hutberg 371.9 m, Heinrichberg 357.1 m, Eichler 333.5 m, Roter Berg 331.1 m) *** Strahwalder Bergkuppen (Wolfsberg 445.1 m; Jäckelberg 395.3 m,Actually the 395.3 m high main summit according to maps – like the clearly well known neighbour in the north – is called the ''Schafberg'' and the Jäckelberg at 388.5 m and the ''Jäckelbaude'' is only the northern top. Locally the hill is better known as the ''Jäckelberg''. Sonneberg 392.6 m) *** Berthelsdorf Valley Riedel *** Kemnitz Loess Hills ** 11009 Loess plateaux on the Eigen (43.67 km²) *** Loess Plateau of Großer Nonnenwald *** Altbernsdorf Loess Plateau *** Loess Plateau of Kleiner Nonnenwald *** Kiesdorf Loess Plateau (Großer Hutberg 308.0 m, Kleiner Hutberg 298.0 m) ** 11010 Neiße Valley near Görlitz (33.20 km²) *** Görlitz Neiße Valley *** Berzdorf Open-Cast Mine ( Berzdorfer See) *** Ostritz Neiße Valley ** 11011 Görlitz Loess Plateaux (105.44 km²) *** Girbigsdorf Loess Plateau *** Pfaffendorf Loess Plateau *** Kunnewitz Incline *** Holtendorf Loess Plateau *** Landeskrone-Biesnitz Kuppen Region (up to 420.0 m) *** Town of Görlitz *** Kunnersdorf Kuppen Region *** Gersdorf Loess Plateau *** Emmerichswald Plateau ** 11012 Reichenbach Loess Hills (79.14 km²) *** Rotstein Ridge (Rotstein 453.7 m, Hengstberg 421.3 m, Georgenberg 396.5 m, Horkenberg 331.9 m; on the far side of the railway and B 6: Rosenhainer Berg 307.9 m) *** Sohlander Loess Hills (Paulsdorfer Spitzberg 370,9 m, Heideberg 341.3 m, Steinberg 322.0 m, Silberberg 313.7 m) *** Kleinradmeritz Loess Plateau (Petzschkenberg: 227.5 m, ridge west of Glossen: a good 220 m) *** Reichenbach Loess Hills *** Meuselwitz Loess Hills *** Mengelsdorf Loess Hills *** Friedersdorf Hills (Friedersdorfer Berg 398.7 m, Schwarzer Berg 390,5 m, Kreuzberg 365.6 m) ** 11013 Königshain Hills (66.49 km²) *** Hills of Liebstein (Liebsteiner Berg: 294.6 m) *** Niesky-Rengersdorf Slate Hills (Heideberg: 249.9 m) *** Eichberg- Hutberg Ridge (up to 345.6 m; western

) *** Arnsdorf Loess Hills, Königshainer Loess Hills *** Hochstein-Kämpferberg Ridge (397.2 m und 415 m; Königshain Hills) ;Notes:

Landscape and geology

The natural region is very varied and characterized by hill ranges, isolated hills, plateau and basins alongside one another. Ice age

ground moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

s, meltwater sands and the overlying

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

soils fill out the

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

relief to varying degrees. The loess loam is generally only about 1 to 1.5 m thick. As witnesses to the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called ...

of the area there are

lava plain Lava fields are large, mostly flat areas of surface or subaquatic lava flows. Such features are generally composed of highly fluid basalt lava, and can extend for tens or hundreds of miles across the underlying terrain. Morphology and stru ...

s and isolated hills of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

and

phonolite Phonolite is an uncommon extrusive rock, of intermediate chemical composition between felsic and mafic, with texture ranging from aphanitic (fine-grained) to porphyritic (mixed fine- and coarse-grained). Phonolite is a variation of the igneous ...

. In the Zittau and Oderwitz Basin, as well as the Berzdorf Basin there are important deposits of

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

in the sediments. Climatically Eastern Upper Lusatia lies partially in the lee of the Upper Lusatian Highlands. For example, onlyr 665 mm of precipitation falls annually. The average annual temperature lies between 8 and 8.6 °C. The potential natural vegetation here is Wood Bedstraw-

Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forest with

Small-leaved Lime ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

References

Bibliography

* Mannsfeld, K. und Syrbe, R.-U. (eds.): ''Naturräume in Sachsen'' mit Kartenbeilage "Naturräumliche Gliederung Sachsens", in: ''Forschungen zur deutschen Landeskunde'' (Vol. 257), Deutsche Akademie für Landeskunde, Selbstverlag, Leipzig, 2008,

External links

Large scale division, suddivisions and overview map
as part of the Upper Lusatia-Lower Silesia planning region, retrieved 11 March 2012 {{Authority control Natural regions of Saxony Upper Lusatia Sudetes