Geest is a type of

landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...

, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the Northern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

s formed as a glacial outwash plain and now usually mantled by a heathland vegetation on the glacial deposits left behind after the last ice age during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

epoch.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p. 214. . The term ''

geest Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outwash plai ...

'' is a substantivisation of the

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

adjective ''güst'', which means "dry and infertile". It is an

Old Drift Old and Young Drift are geographic names given to the morainic landscapes that were formed in Central Europe; the Old Drift during the older ice ages and the Young Drift during the latest glaciations – the Weichselian in North Germany and th ...

landscape, characterised by the sandy depositions of the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. In the depressions between the raised flats are wet meadows and, where drainage is poor,

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s. Geest lands are made up of

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 shee ...

s and sandurs. They are almost always next to flat

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

lands, the geest being higher and better protected against flood but, compared to the marsh, with poor soil for agriculture. Where the geest borders the sea directly, sand

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s exist. The oldest settlements in Northern Germany and Denmark lie on geest, since it provided better protection against

storm flood A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the no ...

s. Many important towns are on the boundary between geest and marshland where people could enjoy the flood-protection of the geest but still use the much more fertile soil in the marsh. Examples of regions characterised by geest are: * the Burgdorf-Peine Geest * the Cloppenburg Geest near Cloppenburg * the geest hillsides between

Wedel Wedel is a town in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, approximately south of Elmshorn, and west of Hamburg. History Foundation and Middle Ages The first known mention of ...

, Altona and

Hamburg-Neustadt Neustadt (, literally: " New town") is one of the inner-city districts of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. History By 1529, Hamburg was firmly anchored in Lutheran Reformation and had successfully managed to divert its trade a ...

and between Hamburg-St. Georg, Bergedorf, Geesthacht and

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe ( en, Lauenberg on the Elbe), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein ...

north of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

(see also: Elbe Urstromtal) * the central geest areas of the islands of

Amrum Amrum (; Öömrang, ''Öömrang'' North Frisian: ''Oomram'') is one of the North Frisian Islands on the Germany, German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-H ...

, Föhr and Sylt * the

Hanoverian Moor Geest The Hanoverian Moor Geest (german: Hannoversche Moorgeest) is a gently rolling landscape between Hanover and Nienburg in the German state of Lower Saxony covering an area of around . It belongs to the raised bog regions of northwest Germany, which ...

* the

Heide-Itzehoe Geest The Heide-Itzehoe Geest (german: Heide-Itzehoe Geest) is a division of a larger natural region in the west of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It belongs to the Hohe Geest and thus to the Schleswig-Holstein Geest natural region. It covers ...

* the

Linteln Geest The Linteln Geest (German: ''Lintelner Geest'' or ''Lint(e)ler Geest''), shown on some maps as the Verden Heath, (German: ''Verdener Heide'Die Generalkarte, Nr. 5 - Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover'', ADAC regional club and ADAC office, Mairs Graphische ...

near

Kirchlinteln Kirchlinteln is a municipality in the district of Verden, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Its central village is situated approximately 6 km east of Verden, and 40 km southeast of Bremen. It is surrounded by the Linteln Geest (also called ...

* the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

* the

Rehden Geest Moor The nature reserve of Rehden Geest Moor (german: Rehdener Geestmoor) is an extensive, open raised bog in the collective municipality of Rehden, in the county of Diepholz in Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; ...

* the

Schleswig Geest The Schleswig Geest (german: Schleswigsche Geest, da, Slesvigsk Gest, Midtslesvig or Midtsletten) lies between the North Frisian Marsh and Schleswig-Holstein Uplands in the north of Schleswig-Holstein (Southern Schleswig) in Germany. To the south ...

* the

Stade Geest The Stade Geest (German: ''Stader Geest''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Stoder Geest'') is a natural region of low, sandy heath (geest) in the North German Plain. It includes a large part of the Elbe-Weser Triangle between the cities of Hamburg, Bremen a ...

near

Stade Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

(including the

Zeven Geest The Zeven Geest (german: Zevener Geest), which is part of the Stade Geest, is an area of sandy terrain in the northeast of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the town of Zeven. Geography The Zeven Geest lies in the Elbe-Weser T ...

and

Wesermünde Geest The Wesermünde Geest (german: Wesermünder Geest; Northern Low Saxon: ''Wersermünner Geest'') is the collective name for several geest ridges in the west of Cuxhaven district and Bremen's in northern Germany. The ridges are separated from one ...

) * the

Wildeshausen Geest The Wildeshausen Geest (german: Wildeshauser Geest) is part of the northwest Germany's geest ridge, that begins near Meppen on the river Ems with the Hümmling, is broken by the Weser depression, continues with the Osterholz Geest and reaches the ...

* the Wingst northwest of

Hemmoor Hemmoor () is a small town in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the river Oste, approx. 40 km northeast of Bremerhaven, and 25 km south of Brunsbüttel. History Hemmoor belonged to the Prince-Arch ...

(Lower Saxony)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Oronyms

See also

References

External links