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EIFEL
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EIFEL , a See also:district of See also:Germany, in the Prussian See also:Rhine See also:Province, between the Rhine; the Moselle and the frontier of the See also:grand duchy of See also:Luxemburg. It is a hilly region, most elevated in the eastern See also:part (Hohe Eifel), where there are several points from 2000 up to 2410 ft. above See also:sea-level. In the See also:west is the Schneifels or Schnee-Eifel; and the See also:southern part, where the most picturesque scenery and See also:chief See also:geological See also:interest is found, is called the Vorder Eifel. The Eifel is an See also:ancient See also:massif of folded Devonian rocks upon the margins of which, near Hillesheim and towards Bitburg and See also:Trier, See also:rest unconformably the nearly undisturbed sandstones, marls and limestones of the Trias. On the southern border, at Wittlich, the terrestrial deposits of the See also:Permian Rothliegende are also met with. The slates and sandstones of the See also:Lower Devonian See also:form by far the greater part of the region; but folded amongst these, in a See also:series of troughs See also:running from See also:south-west to See also:north-See also:east See also:lie the fossiliferous limestones of the See also:Middle Devonian, and occasionally, as for example near Budesheim, a few small patches of the Upper Devonian. Upon the ancient See also:floor of folded Devonian strata stand numerous small volcanic cones, many of which, though See also:long See also:extinct, are still very perfect in form. The precise See also:age of the eruptions is uncertain. The only sign of any remaining volcanic activity is the emission in many places of See also:carbon dioxide and of heated See also:waters. There is no historic or legendary See also:record of any eruption, but nevertheless the eruptions must have continued to a very See also:recent geological See also:period. The lavas of Papenkaule are clearly posterior to the excavation of the valley of the Kyll, and an outflow of See also:basalt has forced the Uess to seek a new course. The volcanic rocks occur both as tuffs and as See also:lava-flows. They are chiefly See also:leucite and See also:nepheline rocks, such as leucitite, leucitophyre and nephelinite, but basalt and See also:trachyte also occur. The leucite lavas of Niedermendig contain hauyne in abundance. The most extensive and continuous See also:area of volcanic rocks is that surrounding the Laacher See and extending eastwards to Neuwied and See also:Coblenz and even beyond the Rhine.133 The numerous so-called See also:crater-lakes or maare of the Eifel See also:present several features of interest. They do not, as a See also:rule, lie in true craters at the See also:summit of volcanic cones, but rather in hollows which have been formed by explosions. The most remarkable See also:group is that of See also:Daun, where the three depressions of Gemund, Weinfeld and Schalkenmehren have been hollowed out in the Lower Devonian strata. The first of these shows no sign of either lavas or scoriae, but volcanic rocks occur on the margins of the other two. The two largest lakes in the Eifel region, however, are the Laacher See in the hills west of See also:Andernach on the Rhine, and the Pulvermaar S.E. of the Daun group, with its shores of See also:peculiar volcanic See also:sand, which also appears in its waters as a See also:black See also:powder (pulver). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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