The Weißer Stein (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
for ''White Stone''; in English also written as Weisser Stein) is located in the forest of Mürring
a hamlet of the
Büllingen municipality in
East Belgium. It is the highest point of this village and the second-highest point of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It also lies on the border with 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 ...
.
German measurements (until 1920 the area belonged to Germany) indicated an altitude of 689 m (
NN, German standard) at the nearby located measuring point, and a small higher area surrounded by the 690-meter altitude line. In 2007 the
University of Liège
The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...
executed measurements and found a height of 692 m (TAW, Belgian standard). The altitude meter of
Google Earth
Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
caused some doubt about
Signal de Botrange
Signal de Botrange is the highest point in Wallonia and in Belgium, located in the ''High Fens'' (''Hautes Fagnes'' in French, ''Hohes Venn'' in German, ''Hoge Venen'' in Dutch), at . It is the top of a broad plateau and a road crosses the summi ...
(694 m TAW) as Belgium's highest point because its vertical reference
EGM96
The Earth Gravitational Models (EGM) are a series of geopotential models of the Earth published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). They are used as the geoid reference in the World Geodetic System.
The NGA provides the models ...
deviates a couple of meters from the German
Normalnull
("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN).
History
In 187 ...
and the Belgian TAW, thereby suggesting an altitude of 701 m for the Weißer Stein. An accurate control by the
Belgian National Geographic Institute The Belgian National Geographic Institute (NGI); (french: Institut géographique national, nl, Nationaal Geografisch Instituut) is the Belgian national mapping agency.
The headquarters are located at Campus Renaissance near the Cinquantenaire park ...
in 2010 showed the Weißer Stein to be at maximum 693.3 m TAW (=691 m NN), with which it differs by less than 1 m from Signal de Botrange.
References
Mountains under 1000 metres
Mountains and hills of the Eifel
Mountains and hills of the Ardennes (Belgium)
Mountains and hills of Liège Province
German-speaking Community of Belgium
Büllingen
Bogs of North Rhine-Westphalia
{{Liege-geo-stub