300px, The Hoogstraatje in Groningen, the northernmost hill of the Hondsrug The Hondsrug () is a Dutch ridge of sand that is mainly located in the province

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

and partly in the province

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. The spur of the Hondsrug in Groningen has led to the creation of various villages build on

artificial dwelling hill A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...

Adorp Adorp () is a village in the municipality of Het Hogeland, Netherlands. It is located about 6 km north of Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the ...

Sauwerd Sauwerd is a village in the municipality of Het Hogeland, Groningen, Netherlands. Until the local government reorganization of 1990 the village was the head of the former municipality of Adorp. The village of Sauwerd is 7 to 10 kilometers away ...

Wetsinge Groot Wetsinge (English: ''Big Wetsinge'') and Klein Wetsinge (English: ''Small Wetsinge'') are two villages in the municipality of Het Hogeland in the Dutch province of Groningen. The villages are less than half a kilometre apart and are ofte ...

Winsum Winsum () is a town and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. On 1 January 2019 the municipality merged with the municipalities of Bedum, De Marne and Eemsmond to form the new municipality Het Hogeland. The town of Winsum was ...

Baflo Baflo (; Gronings: ''Bavvelt'') is a village in the municipality of Het Hogeland, Netherlands. Famous people born in Baflo include humanist Rodolphus Agricola (1443/1444–1485) and jurist Gezina van der Molen Gezina Hermina Johanna van der Mo ...

, Rasquert,

Warffum Warffum (Gronings: Waarvum)is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. It had a population of around 2,175 in January 2017. History The history of Warffum can be traced back to at least 6 ...

Usquert Usquert is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Groningen (province), Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. It had a population of around 1,415 in January 2017. History Usquert was a separate municipality until 1 ...

, Rottum. The name "''Hondsrug''" would appear to be taken from the Dutch word for "dog" or "hound" (''hond'') and the word for a "back" or "ridge" (''rug''). However, it is more likely a bastardization of the older name ''Hunze-rug'', coming from the name of the Hunze River, which flows through Drenthe and Groningen. Up until the 19th century the ''Hondsrug'' was also known as the ''Bisschopsrug'', meaning "Bishop's Ridge". The ridge has northwest–southeast orientation, which it shares with some less pronounced parallel ridges. These ridges are generally thought to be glacial landforms. It has been debated what kind of landform it should be, suggestions ranging from medial moraines to mega-flutes.

See also