The Idar Forest (German: ''Idarwald'',

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

: ''"id ar"'' - hill forest above the land) is part of the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...

low mountain range in the German federal state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

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 ...

Geography

The Idar Forest lies in the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Bernkastel-Wittlich Bernkastel-Wittlich (German: ''Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich'') is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld, Trier-Saarbur ...

and

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

in the northeast of the

Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park The Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park (german: Naturpark Saar-Hunsrück) was established in 1980 and covers an area of just under 2,000 km² in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland. The authority responsible for the nature pa ...

. It lies more or less in the triangle formed by the villages of

Morbach Morbach is a municipality that belongs to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also a state-recognized climatic resort (''Luftkurort''). G ...

(in the northwest),

Rhaunen Rhaunen is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was the seat of the former ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Rhaune ...

(northeast) and

Idar-Oberstein Idar-Oberstein () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a ''Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (large city belonging to a district), it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in ...

(southeast), but apart from Morbach – does not extend as far as these places. The underlying rocks are primarily made up of Lower

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

Mountains

Amongst the highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s in the Idar Forest are: *

An den zwei Steinen An den zwei Steinen is a mountain, , in the Idar Forest (part of the Hunsrück mountains) in the counties of Birkenfeld and Bernkastel-Wittlich in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The wooded peak is the second-highest in Rhineland-Palatinate after ...

(766 m) *

Kahlheid The Kahlheid near Morscheid-Riedenburg in the Idar Forest (Hunsrück) is a mountain, ,{{GeoQuelle, DE-RP, LANDIS-Karte on the boundary between the counties of Birkenfeld and Bernkastel-Wittlich in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The m ...

(766 m) * Steingerüttelkopf (757 m) * Ruppelstein (755 m) * Idarkopf (746 m) - crowned by the

Idarkopf Tower Idarkopf Tower (german: Idarkopf Turm or Idarkopfturm), also known as Idarkopf Observation Tower (german: Idarkopf Aussichtsturm) for long, is a wooden German lattice observation tower on the summit of Mt. Idarkopf in the state of Rhineland-Palati ...

* Usarkopf (724 m)

Bodies of water

Streams

The following

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s rise in, or on the edge of, the Idar Forest: * Dhron * Idarbach (Nahe) - rises between Erbeskopf and Kahlheid * Idarbach (Hahnenbach) - rises north of the Idarkopf near

Hochscheid Hochscheid is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location This rural municipality ...

* Rhaunelbach * Steinbach

Lakes and reservoirs

Steinbachtalsperre (Rheinl-Pfalz) Stausee

The following

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s are located in, or on the edge of, the Idar Forest: * Steinbach Reservoir on the Steinbach

Sources

*Uwe Anhäuser: ''Heimat am Idarwald.'' Literaturverlag Dr. Gebhardt und Hilden, Idar-Oberstein 2001, .

External links

Idarkopf
{{Coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Central Uplands Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate Forests and woodlands of Rhineland-Palatinate Natural regions of the Hunsrück Mountain ranges of Rhineland-Palatinate