Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/467

Rh MoUNrAI.'s.] The southern sides of this range are comparatively steep; on the north it slopes gently down to the plains of Leipsic, but is intersected by the deep valleys of the Elster and _lulde. Altho-_1gh by no means fertile, the Erzgebirge is very thickly peoplezl, as various branches of industry have taken root there in numerous small places. Around Zwickau there is a productive coal-ﬁeld, and mining for metals is c.rrrie.l on near Freiberg. In the east a table- lanl of s‘1ndstonc, called Saxon Switzerland, from the picturesque outlines into which it has been eroded, adjoins the Erzgebirge; one of its most notable features is the deep ravine by which the Elbe escapes from it. Nriiiicroiis qu-Irries, which supply the North German cities with stone for b iildings and monuments, have been opened along the v rlley. 'l‘he sandstone range of the Elbe unites in the east with the low Lusatian group, along the east of which runs the best road from northern Germany to Bohemia. Then comes a range of lesser hills clustering together to form the frontier between Silesia and Bohemia. The most western group is the Isergebirge, and the next the Riesenge- birge, a n'1rrov.' ridge of about 20 miles’ length, with bare i:un1:nits. Excluding the Alps, the Schneekoppe (5266 feet) is the highest peak in Germany; and the southern declivities of this range contain the sources of the Elbe. The hills north and north-east of it are termed the Silesian .[ount-ains. Here one of the minor coal-ﬁelds gives em- ployment to a population grouped round a nmnber of comp:u'~.1tively small centres. One of the main roads into Bohemia (the pass of Landshut) runs along the eastern base of the Riesengebirge. Still farther to the east the mountains are grouped around the hollow of Glatz, whence the Neisse for-:es its way towards the north. This hollow is shut in 011 the east by the Sudetic group, in which the -ltv.1ter rises to almost 4900 feet. The eastern portion of the group, calletl the Gesenke, slopes gently away to the valley of the Oder, which affords an open route for the international traﬁic, like that through the Miilh-rusen Gate in -ls1ce. Geographers style this the lloravian Gate. The .'orth-German plain presents little variety, yet is not absolutely uniform. A row of low hills runs generally parallel to the mozmtain ranges already noticed, at a (lis- tance of 20 to 30 miles to the north. To these belongs the Upper Silesian coal-basin, which occupies a considerable area in soiith-eastern Silesia. North of the middle districts of the Elbe country the heights are called the Fliiming hills. Westward lies as the last link of this series the Liineburger H-aide or Heath, between the Weser and Elbe, north of H-mover. A second tract, of moderate elcvation, sweeps round the B.1lti::, without, however, approaching its shores. This plateau contains a considerable nmnber of lakes, and is divided into three portions by the Vistula and the Oder. The most eastward is the so-called Prussian Seenplatte. Spirdingsee (430 feet above sea—level, and 46 square miles in area) and Bl-Iuersee are the largest lakes; they are situ-_1te-l in the centre of the plateau, and give rise to the Pregcl. Some peaks near the Russian frontier attain to l0{)0 feet. The Pomeranian Seenplatte, between the Vistuli and the Oder, extends from S.V. to N.E., its greatest elevation being in the neighbourhood of Dantzic (Thurmberg, l096 feet). The Seenplatte of Blecklenburg, on the other hand, stretches from to N.W., and most of its lakes, of which the Miiritzsee is the largest, send their waters towards the Elbe. The ﬁnely wooded heights which surround the bays of the east coast of Holstein and Schleswig may be regarded as a continuation of these Baltic elevations. The lowest parts, therefore, of the I'orth—Gcrman plain, excluding the sea-coasts, are the central districts from about 52° to 53° N. lat., where the Vistula, Netze, Warthe, Oder, Spree, and Havel form vast swampy lowlands (in German called Briic/ae), which, during GERMANY 449 the last hundred years, have been considerably reduced by the construction of canals and by cultivation,—improve- ments due in large measure to Frederick the Great. The Spreewald, to the SE. of Berlin, is one of the most remark- able districts of Germany. As the Spree divides itself there into innumerable branches, enclosing thickly wooded islands, boats form the only means of communication. West of Berlin the Havel widens into what are called the Havel lakes, to which the environs of Potsdam owe their charms. In general the soil of the North—German plain cannot be termed fertile, the cultivation nearly everywhere requiring severe and constant labour. Long stretches of ground are covered by moors, and there turf-cutting forms the principal occupation of the inhabitants. The greatest extent of moorland is found in the westernmost parts of the plain, in Oldenburg and East Frisia. The plain contains, however, a few districts of the utmost fer- tility, particularly the tracts on the central Elbe, and the marsh lands on the west coast of Holstein and the north coast of Hanover, Oldenburg, and East Frisia, which, within the last two centuries, the inhabitants have reclaimed from the sea by means of immense dikes. Iz’[vers.——Xine independent river-systems may be distin- guished: those of the Memel, Pregel, Vistula (Weichsel), Oder, Elbe, Veser, Ems, Rhine, and Danube. Of these the Pregel, Weser, and Ems belong entirely, and the Oder mostly, to the German empire. The Danube has its sources on German soil ; but only the fifth part of its course is German. Its total length is 1730 miles, and the Bavarian frontier at Passau, where the Inn joins it, is only 350 miles distant from its sources. It is navigable as far as Ulm, 220 miles above Passau ; and its tributaries the Lech, Isar, Inn, and Altmiihl are also navigable. The Rhine is the most important river of Germany, although neither its sources nor its months are within the limits of the empire. From the Lake of Constance to Basel (122 miles) the Rhine forms the boundary between the German empire and Switzerland _; the canton of Schaﬂliausen, however, is situated on the northern bank of the river. From Basel to below Em- merich the Rhine belongs to the German empire—about 470 miles, or four-sevenths of its whole course. It is navigable all this distance, as are also the Neckar from Esslingen, the Main from B-amberg, the Lalm, the Lippe, the Ruhr, the Moselle from Metz, with its aﬂlnents the Saar and Sauer. Vessels sail up the Ems as far as I’apen- burg, and river craft as far as Greven, and the river is con- nected with a widely branching system of canals for turf- bolts. The Fulda, navigable for 63 miles, and the Werra 38 miles, above the point where they unite, form by their junction the Weser, which has a course of 271 miles, and receives as navigable tributaries the Aller, the Leine fron1 Hanover, and some smaller streams. Large steamers cannot, however, get as far as Bremen, and that commercial emporium has, in consequence, been obliged to form a sea- port at Bremenhafcn. The Elbe, after a course of 2:30 miles, enters German territory near Aussig, 482 miles from its mo11th. It is navigable above this point to its junction with the Moldau. Hamburg may be reached by vessels of 10 to 11 feet draught. The navigable tributaries of the Elbe are the Saale (below Xaumburg), the Havel, Spree, Elde, Sude, and some others. The Oder begins to be navigable almost on the frontier at Ratibor, 480 miles from its mouth, receiving as navigable tributaries the Glatz Neisse and the Warthe. Only the lower course of the Vistula belongs to the German empire, within which it is a broad, navigable stream of considerable volume. On the Pregel ships of 2500 tons reach Kijnigsberg, and river barges reach Insterburg ; the Alle, its tributary, may also be navigated. The Memel is navigable in its course of 113 miles from the Russian frontier. Germany thus a country — - "“ S7