Örtze
| Örtze | |
|---|---|
The Örtze near Hermannsburg
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| State | Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Basin features | |
| Main source | north of Munster in the Große Heide (Bundesforst Raubkammer) 86 m above sea level (NN) 53°01′36″N 10°05′01″E / 53.02667°N 10.08361°ECoordinates: 53°01′36″N 10°05′01″E / 53.02667°N 10.08361°E |
| River mouth | into the Aller southeast of Winsen 30 m above sea level (NN) 52°40′17″N 9°55′54″E / 52.67139°N 9.93167°E |
| Progression | Aller → Weser → North Sea |
| River system | Weser |
| Basin size | 770 km² |
| Landmarks |
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| Tributaries |
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| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 62 km (with Aue and Wietze 70 km) |
The Örtze is a river in the North German state of Lower Saxony, which rises north of Munster in the Große Heide (in the Raubkammer federal forest) and, after 62 kilometres (39 mi), joins the Aller southeast of Winsen.
The Örtze valley is an old glacial valley. It was formed during the Saale glaciation about 230,000 to 130,000 years ago by the drainage of meltwater from the ice sheet which cut 20 to 50 metres deep into the plateaus of the southern Lüneburg Heath. The upper Örtze has incised its own, much smaller valley into the sandur beds and the roughly 4 kilometre wide, flat glacial valley floor.
The source region of the Örtze and its several source bogs lie on the terrain of the Munster North Training Area. In order to remove suspended solids and sediments which are washed away during heavy rains from the tank training areas with their sparse covering of vegetation, four successive lakes – the so-called Munoseen – have been created on the Örtze, and, on the Ilster, the main headstream of the river, there is a further dam pond. The Örtze is the largest river on the Southern Heath or Südheide and drains its central area, between the rather longer Böhme to the west and the Ise to the east. It has a relatively steep incline. In the middle of the river in its lower course the stream flow is about 0.71 metres per second and the water depth varies from 0.5 m to 2 m. It is classed as a so-called summer-cold heath stream (sommerkalter Heidebach).
The Örtze passes the towns and villages of Munster (an important military base in North Germany), Kreutzen, Poitzen, Müden, Hermannsburg (renowned because of the Hermannsburg Mission), Oldendorf, Eversen and Wolthausen.
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Wikipedia