Wasgau

Wasgau
Typical Wasgau countryside with conical hills and plains: view looking southwest from Rehberg
Highest point
Peak	Grand Wintersberg (581 m above NHN) for the whole Wasgau; Rehberg (577 m above NHN) for the German part
Dimensions
Area	1,300 km2 (500 sq mi)
Geography
Location of the Wasgau (highlit) in the southern Palatine Forest and northern Vosges
State	Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany); Départements of Bas-Rhin and Moselle (France)
Range coordinates	49°03′N 7°40′E / 49.05°N 7.66°E / 49.05; 7.66Coordinates: 49°03′N 7°40′E / 49.05°N 7.66°E / 49.05; 7.66
Parent range	of the Palatine Forest (south) and the Vosges (north)
Geology
Age of rock	Bunter sandstone 251–243 M years ago Zechstein 256–251 M years ago
Type of rock	Rock units bunter sandstone and Zechstein

The Wasgau (German: Wasgau, French: Vasgovie) is a Franco-German hill range in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the French departments of Bas-Rhin and Moselle. It is formed from the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the northern part of the Vosges mountains, and extends from the River Queich in the north over the French border to the Col de Saverne in the south.

The highest hill in the entire Wasgau is the Grand Wintersberg (581 m above NHN) near Niederbronn-les-Bains in northern Alsace. Next, at 577 m is the only slightly lower Rehberg near Annweiler in the South Palatinate, which is the highest summit on German soil in the Wasgau.

The Wasgau forms the southern part of the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve.

The Wasgau runs from a line between Pirmasens and Landau in the north that, from Wilgartswiesen coincides with the course of the River Queich, to the Col de Saverne and a line between Phalsbourg to Saverne in the south. Its eastern boundary, running from Albersweiler in the Queich valley via Bad Bergzabern, Wissembourg in Alsace and Niederbronn-les-Bains to Saverne is the edge of the Rhine Graben. In the west the hills transition smoothly into the landscape region of the Westrich Plateau; from there the younger rock strata of the muschelkalk cover the bunter sandstone that dominates the Wasgau. This natural boundary runs roughly from Pirmasens via Eppenbrunn, Bitche and Lemberg in Lorraine towards the south and, near Phalsbourg, finally reaches the fault zone of the narrow Col de Saverne; this separates the Wasgau from the "real" (North) Vosges immediately to the south, although this transition is rather gradual and the dividing line not particularly clear.