GeographyWürttemberg
Württemberg,hilly rather thanmountainous region, forms part ofSouth German tableland. The undulating fertile terracesUpperLower Swabia typify this agricultural region. Estimateslandform proportions countquarter ofentire area as plain, less than one-third as mountainous,nearly one-half as hill-country.
- Average elevation above sea level: 1640 feet
- Lowest point: Bottingen (410 feet.), whereNeckar leaves Württemberg
- Highest point:Katzenkopf (3775 feet.), onHornisgrinde, onwestern border
Orography
The chief mountains includeBlack Forest onwest,Swabian Alb or Rauhe Alb stretching acrossmiddle ofarea from south-westnorth-east, andAdelegg Mountains inextreme south-east, adjoiningAlgau AlpsBavaria. The Rauhe Alb (or Alp) slopes gradually down intoplateau on its southern side, but onnorthappears sometimes ruggedsteep, its line broken by isolated projecting hills. The highest summits,Lemberg (3326 feet),Ober-Hohenberg (3312 feet) andPlettenberg (3293 feet), lie insouthwest.
Tosouth ofRauhe AlbplateauUpper Swabia stretchesLake Constanceeastwards acrossIller into Bavaria. BetweenAlb andBlack Forest innorth-west liefertile terracesLower Swabia, which continue north-eastwards into Franconia.
Hydrography
About 70%Württemberg belongs tobasin ofRhine,about 30%that ofDanube. The main river,Neckar, flows northward186 miles throughareajoinRhine, drainingits tributaries (notablyrivers Rems, KocherJagst) 57% offormer stateWürttemberg. The Danube flows from eastwest across southern Württemberg,distance65 miles,small sectionwhich crosses through former Hohenzollern territory. Just above Ulmriver Iller, which formsboundary between BavariaWürttembergabout 35 miles, joinsDanube. The Tauber innorth-east joinsMain;ArgenSchussen insouth flow into Lake Constance.
The lakesWürttemberg, except those inBlack Forest, all lie south ofDanube. The largest isFedersee (1 square mile), near Buchau. About one-fifthLake Constance forms Württemberg territory.
Mineral springs abound; most famously atspaWildbad, inBlack Forest.
