The Großes Moor ("Great Bog") is the proper name for a contiguous region of

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

between the towns of

Damme Damme () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge (Bruges). The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the villages of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerke, S ...

, Lohne and Vechta and the village of

Goldenstedt Goldenstedt is a municipality in the district of Vechta, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hunte, approximately 12 km northeast of Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the V ...

in the county of Vechta on the one hand, and the villages of

Diepholz Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwest of ...

and

Barnstorf Barnstorf is a municipality in the district of Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km northeast of Diepholz. Barnstorf is home to the football club ''Barnstorfer SV''. Barnstorf is also the seat of the ''Sa ...

and Bramsche in Osnabrück in

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 ...

on the other, all within

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 ...

. Confusingly, there are two smaller bogs in this region also called ''Großes Moor''; sources that use these name generally refer to be overall region as the "Great Bogs" (''Große Moore'').See e.g.: Hajo Hayen: ''Bohlenwege in den großen Mooren am Dümmer''. Cologne, 1977 One of the two smaller bogs named ''Großes Moor'' lies south of Damme; the other east of Vechta. Both are linked by a chain of intermediate bogs east of Steinfeld and Lohne. The entire region consists of partly near-natural areas, former agricultural

peat cutting Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

s and raise bog grassland.

Geography

Location

The Großes Moor lies in the southern part of the North German Plain along the boundary between the counties of Vechta and Diepholz. It is part of the

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

known as the " Ems-Hunte Geest and

Dümmer Geest Lowland The Dümmer Geest Lowland (german: Dümmer-Geestniederung) is a natural region unit of the 3rd level in northwest Germany that mainly extends over southwestern Lower Saxony with a small area over the border in North Rhine-Westphalia. Its uniqueness ...

". To the north and west of the bog near Damme are the Damme Hills, whose spurs border the bog in the west in the region of the borough of Vechta. The southern part of the Großes Moor extends into the Dümmer Nature Park, in which the lake of

Dümmer The Dümmer () or officially Dümmer See is a large lake in southern Lower Saxony (Germany). It has a surface of 13.5 km2 and an average depth of one metre. Its elevation is 37 metres. Dümmer is a popular resort for water sports, but a ...

is located. Not far south are the foothills of the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen Hills (german: Wiehengebirge, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long finger away from the main upland area of the Lower Saxon ...

, which are part of the North Teutoburg Forest-Wiehen Hills Nature Park. In front of this hill ridge and so near the Großes Moor a section of the Mittelland Canal runs from east to west by the boglands. The northern part of the Großes Moor extends into the

Wildeshausen Geest Nature Park 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 ...

. to the east the bogland is adjoined by 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; ...

; to the southeast rises the

Kellenberg Kellenberg Memorial High School is a Roman Catholic college-preparatory school in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island, United States. Kellenberg Memorial is a Marianist school on Long Island, alongside St. Martin de Porres Marianist School in Uni ...

. West of the Großes Moor runs the

River Hase The Hase is a long river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ems, but part of its flow goes to the Else, that is part of the Weser basin. Its source is in the Teutoburg Forest, south-east of Osnabrück, on the north slope ...

, east of that is the Hunte. Streams that flow into these rivers, drain the bog region.

References

External links

Radio Bremen: ''Widersprechen sich Torfabbau und Moorschutz im Dreieck Diepholz, Lohne, Vechta?''. 20 February 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosses Moor (Vechtadiepholz) Bogs of Lower Saxony BGrosses Moor Vechtadiepholz BGrosses Moor Vechtadiepholz North German Plain