Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/468

446 HANOVER (German, Hannover), formerly an independent kingdom, but since 1860 a province of Prussia, lies between 51 18 and 53 52 N. lat. and 6 43 and 11 45 E. long., and is bounded on the N&quot;. by the North Sea, N.E. by Holstein, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg, E. and S.E. by Prussian Saxony and the duchy of Brunswick, S.W. by Hesse-Cassel and Westphalia, and W. by Holland. These boundaries include the grand-duchy of Oldenburg, which stretches southward from the North Sea nearly to the southern boundary of Hanover. A small portion of the province in the south is separated from Hanover proper by the interposition of a part of Brunswick. The area of the province extends to 14,548 English square miles.

Physical Features.—The greater part of Hanover is embraced in that extensive plain which, commencing on the shores of the North Sea, terminates on the frontiers of Russia. The most fruitful districts are on the banks of the Elbe and near the North Sea, where, as in Holland, rich meadows are preserved from being immersed in water by broad dykes and deep ditches, constructed and kept in repair at great expense. It is only the southern portion that is mountainous ; the district of Klausthal, containing the Harz, is wholly so, as well as some parts near Got- tingen, and in the district of Hildesheim. The Harz mountains are not a part of any chain, but rise from a plain in an isolated group, the highest points of which are nearly in the centre (see ). They are covered with exten sive forests. On their lower slopes the trees are of the deciduous kinds, but pines alone are found on the summits. The whob of Hanover dips towards the north, and the rivers consequently flow in that direction. The Elbe, which forms the boundary on the N.E., receives the fol lowing tributaries : the Ohre, wiiich rises in the district of Liineburg ; the Aland and the Jetze, which come out of the province of Saxony, and are navigable in their lower course ; the Ilmenau, which becomes navigable at Liine burg ; the Este, navigable to Buxtehude; the Llihe, navigable to Hornburg ; the Schwinge, by which vessels reach Stade ; the Oste, navigable to Kirchosters ; and the Medem, which runs through the Hadeln-land, and admits large vessels up to Otterndorf. The Weser enters Hanover at Miinden, being there formed by the junction of the Fulda and the Werra. It is navigable for barges from the spot at which its name commences ; and it receives the Hamel, the Aller, the Oertze, the Leine, the Bohme, the Eyther, the Wiimme, which in the lower part of its course takes the name of Lesum, the Geeste, and the Hunte, all of them purely Hanoverian rivers. The Ems rises in the province of Westphalia, and after entering Hanover receives the waters of the Aa, the Haase, the Else, and the Leda ; it falls into the Dollart near Emden, which is the principal seaport in the kingdom. It is navigable for flat-bottomed vessels from Rheina downwards, and for sea-going ships from Halte and Weener. The Vecht, a river of short course, rises in the province of Westphalia, and falls into the Zuyder Zee. A navigable canal from the Vecht to Miinster connects that city with the Zuyder Zee. Navigable canals connect the various river systems. The principal lakes are the Steinhuder Meer, about 4 miles long and 2 broad, and 20 fathoms deep, on the borders of Schaumburg-Lippe ; the Diimmersee on the borders of Oldenburg, about 12 miles in circuit; the lake of Bederkesa, and some others in the moorlands of the north ; the Seeburger See near Duderstadt ; and the Oderteich, in the Harz, 2100 feet above the level of the sea.

.—The climate in the low-lying districts near the coast is moist and foggy, in the plains mild, on the Harz mountains severe and variable. In spring the prevailing winds blow from the N.E. and E., in summer from the S.W. The mean annual temperature is about 46 Fahr. ; in the town of Hanover it is- higher. The average annual rainfall is about 23 - 5 inches; but this varies greatly in different districts. In the west the Hohenrauch, a thick fog arising from the burning of the moors, is a plague of frequent occurrence.

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