The Dümmer Geest Lowland () is 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 ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

unit of the 3rd level in northwest

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

that mainly extends over southwestern

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

with a small area over the border in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. Its uniqueness consists in the very varied juxtaposition of different landscape elements of the Northern Lowlands of which the Dümmer Geest Lowland is a part.

Establishment

The proposed area was recognized as comprising several kinds of

in the wake of the scientifically-oriented division of Germany into natural region units in the 1950s. It was classified as a "natural region unit of the third-order" or even as a "major unit group", called the Dümmer Geest Lowland and given the number 58 within the classification schema that covered the whole of

. The region was subdivided into natural region major units, which are, in turn, divided into units of a lower order. The name is still not in common everyday use.

Region and boundaries

The area of the Dümmer Geest Lowland is roughly bounded by the following line:

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

border near

Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems (river), Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from t ...

–

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...

–

Sulingen Sulingen is a town in the district of Diepholz, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximatively 30 km east of Diepholz, and 45 km south of Bremen. Sister cities * Joniškis, Lithuania People from Sulingen * Walter Momper (bo ...

–

Hoya Hoya may refer to: Places *Hoya, Germany, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany *County of Hoya, a former state in present Germany *Hōya, Tokyo, now incorporated within Nishi-tokyo, Tokyo, Japan * Hoya, Hpruso, a place in Hpruso Township, Kayah, Myanma ...

–

Nienburg/Weser Nienburg (, official name: ''Nienburg/Weser''; , or ) is a town and capital of the district Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Situated on the scenic German Timber-Frame Road, Nienburg lies on the river Weser, approximately southeas ...

–

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

–

Mittelland Canal The Mittelland Canal, also known as the Midland Canal, (, ) is a major canal in central Germany. It forms an important link in the waterway network of the country, providing the principal east-west inland waterway connection. Its significanc ...

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

– Dutch border near

Nordhorn Nordhorn (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Nothoorn'', or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn,'' and Dutch: ''Noordhoorn'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim, located in the southwest corner of the state, near th ...

. It thus covers all or part of the following counties:

Grafschaft Bentheim County of Bentheim () is a districts of Germany, district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the Netherlands, Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, the district of Emsland, and the distri ...

Emsland Landkreis Emsland () is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems (river), Ems. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Leer (district), Leer, Cloppenburg (district), Cloppenbur ...

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Diepholz Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwes ...

and Nienburg in Lower Saxony and

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Nienburg (district), Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford (district), Herford, Osnabr ...

and

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From –1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münster, North Rhine-Westp ...

in North Rhine-Westphalia. Adjacent natural regions of the third level are the

Westphalian Basin 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 ...

to the southwest, the Ems-Hunte Geest to the north, the Weser-Aller Plain to the east and the Lower

Weser Uplands The Weser Uplands (German: ''Weserbergland'', ) is a hill region in Germany, between Hannoversch Münden and Porta Westfalica, along the river Weser. The area reaches into three states, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia. Important ...

to the south.

Subdivisions

The Dümmer Bog Geest as a natural region unit of the third order is further subdivided into natural units of the fourth level (natural region major units): *580 Nordhorn-Bentheim Sand Lowland *581 Plantlünne Sand Plain *582

Rahden-Diepenau Geest The Rahden-Diepenau Geest () is a natural region in the extreme northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia and in the neighbouring state of Lower Saxony in north Germany. It includes the overwhelmingly gently rolling geest between the Lübbecker Lößland ...

*583

Middle Weser Valley The Middle Weser Valley () is part of the Weser Depression around the River Weser on the North German Plain, extending from the gap of Porta Westfalica to the town of Hoya. It is not a true valley, because it is only bordered by low hills at two ...

*584 Diepholz Marshes *585 Bersenbrück Land *586 Lingen Land The numbers relate to the classification system.

Literature

* Emil Meynen (ed.): ''Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands.'' Selbstverlag der Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen, 1959–1962 (Part 2, contains issues 6–9).

External links

Phänologische Naturraumkarte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dummergeestlowland Regions of Lower Saxony Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia North German Plain