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Großer Inselsberg

Großer Inselsberg
Aerial view of the summit
Highest point
Elevation 916.5 m above sea level (NN) (3,007 ft)
Prominence 228 metres (748 ft)
Isolation 27.3 kilometres (17.0 mi)
Coordinates 50°51′04″N 10°27′57″E / 50.851111°N 10.465833°E / 50.851111; 10.465833Coordinates: 50°51′04″N 10°27′57″E / 50.851111°N 10.465833°E / 50.851111; 10.465833
Geography
Großer Inselsberg is located in Thuringia
Großer Inselsberg
Großer Inselsberg
Parent range Thuringian Forest

Großer Inselsberg is a mountain in the Thuringian Forest with a height of 916.5 metres (3,007 ft) above sea level, located on Rennsteig in the districts of Gotha and Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is the fourth-highest distinct mountain of Thuringia, after Großer Beerberg (982.9 metres (3,225 ft)), Schneekopf (978 metres (3,209 ft)) and Großer Finsterberg (944.1 metres (3,097 ft)) and forms a landmark that can be viewed in particular from northern and western directions.

The summit of Großer Inselsberg is located about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) NNE of Brotterode and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of Tabarz. It forms a narrow, arched plateau of about 700 metres (2,300 ft) length. The steep slopes are marked by deep dents and spurs formed by weathering.

The summit has a dominance radius of 27.3 kilometres (17.0 mi) extending to Sommerbachskopf (941.5 metres (3,089 ft) a.s.l.) and a prominence of 228 metres (748 ft) relative to the saddle at Heuberghaus.

With the exception of the buildings, the summit region of Großer Inselsberg has been a nature reserve since 30 March 1961.

Großer Inselsberg is a rhyolitic butte that has withstood the weathering of the surrounding softer rock layers. The near-surface rocks of the summit region belong to the lower vulcanites of the Oberhof sequence in the lower Rotliegend and crop out in Reitsteine, a steep escarpment southeast of the summit. They are embedded in the conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones of the Goldlauter sequence to the north and the grainy gneiss of Cambrian origin to the south. An abrupt transition between the Inselsberg rhyolite and the gneiss can be observed along the west–east Inselsberg fault.

The potential natural vegetation of the mountain is a beech forest, on the northern slope with an undergrowth of heath bedstraw, on the sunny southern side with woodrush. Some near-natural beech forests are preserved on the southern and thenortheastern slope. The common spruce has been introduced through silviculture. The once indigenous silver fir has disappeared. Other naturally occurring tree species include sycamore, Norway maple, ash, elm, sessile oak, pedunculate oak, silver birch, alder, larch, goat willow, and wild cherry.


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Wikipedia

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