The Paderborn Plateau (german: Paderborner Hochfläche) in central Germany is, geologically speaking, the southeastern element of the

Westphalian Bight 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 ...

and, at the same time, the largest

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

landscape in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. In the west the Alme valley forms the boundary with the

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 ...

region including the

Haarstrang The Haar () or Haarstrang is a ridge of hills on the southern edge of the Westphalian Basin in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. From a natural region perspective it is the southern, submontane part of the Hellweg Börde, which stands ...

and

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 ...

; to the north the plateau is bordered by the Lippe depression, the

Senne Senne may refer to: Places * Senne (Germany), a natural region of Germany *Senne, a district of Bielefeld, Germany * Senne (river), a river of Belgium *Senné (disambiguation), places in Slovakia People with the name *Yōkō Senne, a 13th-centur ...

and the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

. Its eastern limit is the

Eggegebirge The Egge Hills (german: Eggegebirge, ), or just the Egge (''die Egge'') is a range of forested hills, up to , in the east of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The Egge extends from the southern tip of the Teutoburg Forest ra ...

. To the south are the

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 ...

and the

Waldeck Upland Waldeck may refer to: Places Canada * Waldeck, Nova Scotia, rural community in Nova Scotia, Canada * Waldeck, Saskatchewan Waldeck ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of E ...

. The Paderborn Plateau is divided into four landscape regions: The Sintfeld in the south, the Brenken Plateau in the west, the Bockfeld in the north and the Lichtenau Plateau (Soratfeld) in the east.

References

External links

BfN Landscape fact file
Landforms of North Rhine-Westphalia Plateaus of Germany ! {{NorthRhineWestphalia-geo-stub

See also

References

External links