Black Forest Geography

Geologically, the Black Forest consists of a cover of sandstone on top of a core of gneiss. During the last ice age, the Würm glaciation, the Black Forest was covered by glaciers; several cirques such as the Mummelsee are remains of this period.

Rivers in the Black Forest include Danube, Enz, Kinzig, Murg, Neckar, and Rench. The Black Forest is part of the continental divide between the Atlantic Ocean watershed (drained by the Rhine) and the Black Sea watershed (drained by the Danube).

Administratively, the Black Forest belongs to the following counties; in the north: Enz, Pforzheim, Rastatt, and Calw; in the middle: Freudenstadt, Ortenaukreis, and Rottweil; in the south: Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Lörrach, and Waldshut. Dialects spoken are Alemannic and Swabian.

The forest mostly consists of pines and firs, some of which are grown in commercial monoculture; the main industry is tourism. Due to logging and land use changes the forest proper is only a fraction of the size it used to be. Moreover, it has suffered serious damage from acid rain. The storm Lothar knocked down trees over hundreds of acres of mountaintops in 1999. This left some of the high peaks and scenic hills bare, with only primary growth shrubs and young fir trees.

Many people say that they call it the black forest mountains because when on the mountain, in the wooded areas, is seems dark from the shadows of all the trees.

Once you enter the Black Forest you will notice many houses much like the houses above. These houses have the typical design you will see throughout your visit to the area.