The Wittlich Depression (german: Wittlicher Senke or ''Wittlicher Rotliegend-Senke''), less commonly, the Wittlich Basin, is the continuation of the Trier Valley in a northeasterly direction. It is not only recognisable in the terrain as an elongated depression, but also from its geological structure as a basin. 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, the Wittlich Depression (252) is one of three major units of the Moselle Valley major unit group Moseltal (25). The ''Wittlich Depression Cycleway'' (''Radweg Wittlicher Senke'') runs through the region.

Geography

The Wittlich Depression runs for about 45 kilometres from

Schweich Schweich is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Moselle, approx. northeast of Trier. Schweich is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Schweich an der R ...

in the southwest almost to the

River Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

northeast of

Wittlich The town of Wittlich (; Moselle Franconian: ''Wittlech'') is the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its historic town centre and the beauty of the surrounding countryside make the town a centre for tourism in ...

. At its widest point it is about 7 kilometres across. Its average height is about , its lowest point is near Wengerohr in the vicinity of Wittlich and on the Lieser, a tributary of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

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 ...

. The depression is bounded to the northwest by the Meulenwald forest, to the southeast by the

Moselle Hills The Moselle Hills (german: Moselberge) form a ridge, up to , on the left bank of the river Moselle between Reil, Germany, Reil and Schweich in the Rhineland-Palatinate counties of Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich, Bernkastel-Wittlich and Landkreis Tr ...

and to the east by the

Kondelwald The Kondelwald, also known as the Kondel, is a forest, about 2,500 hectares in area and up to , that forms part of the Moselle Eifel. It lies within the counties of Bernkastel-Wittlich and Cochem-Zell in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ...

. The Wittlich Depression is drained by the Lieser and its tributaries. The jointed rocks below the surface hold a larger amount of groundwater than the area around the depression. The climate is similar to the mild conditions of the Moselle Valley. Due to its sheltered location,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

is grown in the valley.

Natural regions

The Wittlich Depression is divided into the following natural regions: * ''(to 25 - Moselle Valley'') ** 251 Wittlich Depression *** 251.0 '' Southwestern Wittlich Depression'' **** 251.00 Föhren Kuppen Land (between

Föhren Föhren is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

und

Bekond Bekond is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

) **** 251.01

Hetzerath Plateau Hetzerath is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The municipality lies on the edge of ...

(around

Hetzerath Hetzerath is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The municipality lies on the edge of ...

) *** 251.1 ''

Central Wittlich Depression Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

'' **** 251.10

Sehlem Salm Valley Sehlem refers to the following places in Germany: * Sehlem, Lower Saxony Sehlem is a village and a former municipality in the district of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2016, it is part of the municipality Lamspringe La ...

(

Salm Salm may refer to People * Constance de Salm (1767–1845), poet and miscellaneous writer; through her second marriage, she became Princess of Salm-Dyck * Salm ibn Ziyad, an Umayyad governor of Khurasan and Sijistan * House of Salm, a European ...

from

Rivenich Rivenich is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The municipality lies in the Eifel on ...

Salmtal Salmtal is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It became well known countrywide for the football ...

) **** 251.11

Dreis Valley Dreis is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Dreis lies on the river Salm at the point ...

(between

Dreis Dreis is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Dreis lies on the river Salm at the point ...

and Wittlich) **** 251.12 Wittlich Valley (

and the regions west-northwest and south-southwest:
Lieser from Wittlich to Platten; northeast to Bausendorf) *** 251.2 Klausen Hill Country (from Klausen to south of Wittlich) *** 251.3 Bausendorf Alf Valley ( Alf valley from Bausendorf to below Bengel)

References

Interaktiver Kartendienst
un
Beschreibungen
der Naturschutzverwaltung Rhineland-Palatinate Exact natural regional name unknown.

Literature

* * * Landesamt für Geologie und Bergbau Rhineland-Palatinate (Hrsg.): ''Geologie von Rhineland-Palatinate.'' E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, 2005, .

External links

Flächennutzungsplan Wittlich, Erläuterungsbericht
''Böden der Wittlicher Senke.''
Universität Trier

{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate Regions of the Eifel Natural regions of the Central Uplands