The Haar () or Haarstrang is a ridge of hills on the southern edge of the

Westphalian Basin The Westphalian Lowland, also known as the Westphalian Basin is a flat landscape that mainly lies within the German region of Westphalia, although small areas also fall within North Rhine (in the extreme southwest) and in Lower Saxony (on the nort ...

in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. From a

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 ...

perspective it is the southern, submontane part of the

Hellweg Börde The Hellweg Börde (German: ''Hellwegbörde'') is a ''börde'' landscape and natural region on the southern edge of the Westphalian Lowland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which embraces the old Hellweg trading route cities and town ...

, which stands opposite the northern area of the

Süder Uplands The Süder Uplands Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

), north of the

Möhne The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, use ...

and

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

rivers.E. Meynen and J. Schmithüsen: ''Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands'' - Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, 6th edition Remagen 1959 (a total of 9 editions in 8 books 1953-1962, updated in 1960 with 1:1,000,000 map of major landscape units) Its highest elevation is the 391 m high ''Spitze Warte'', which is situationed near

Rüthen Rüthen () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Rüthen is situated at the northeastern border of the natural preserve Arnsberger Wald between the Haarstrang and the valley of the river Möhne, approx ...

- Hemmern at the eastern end of the Haarstrang. Further west the crest of the ridge reaches heights of generally 200 to 250 m above sea level ( NN) and rises to about 100 to 150 m over the

and

valleys in the south as well as the valley of the

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The d ...

in the north separated by the Upper and Lower

Hellweg In the Middle Ages, Hellweg was the official and common name given to main travelling routes in Germany. Their breadth was decreed as an unimpeded passageway a lance's width, about three metres, which the landholders through which the Hellweg pas ...

, both parts of the Hellweg Börde.

References

External links

Natural region maps
from the individual 1:200,000 sheets by the ''Bundesinstitut für Landeskunde'' - relevant here are all units beginning with "544" on **''Sheet 97 - Münster'' **''Sheet 98 - Detmold'' (west of the sheet) **''Sheet 110 - Arnsberg'' **''Sheet 111 - Arolsen'' (west) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haar Landforms of North Rhine-Westphalia Soest (district) Unna (district) Westphalian Lowland Hill ranges of Germany