Alb (Southern Black Forest)
Encyclopedia
The Alb is a river in the Black Forest
. It arises from two headwaters, the Menzenschwander Alb and Bernauer Alb and flows in a southerly direction. It ends after 42.8 km at a confluence with the High Rhine
at Albbruck
.
word *albhos meaning "white" or perheps "river".
mountain range in the Landkreis of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
. The Bernauer Alb rises on the southern slope of the Herzogenhorn
. The Menzenschwander Alb is about 12 km long and flows south-east past Menzenschwand. The Bernauer Alb is about 11 km lang; it also flows south-east, past Bernau
. The confluence of the two headwaters is at Glashofsäge, about 4 kilometers from Sankt Blasien.
The valleys of both headwaters were widened by glaciers during the ice age
. Both are about 900 m heigh and dominated by grassland. the Bernau valley is a broad basin, characterized by moraines, marshy valleys, ravines, and Roche moutonnée
s. The hamlets
and isolatd farms that make up the valley lie some distance above the frost-prone valley floor.
The glacial features in the Menzenschwand valley are even more striking. The Menzenschwander Kluse is a well-known terminal moraine
. Below the Kluse, the Menzenschwand Alb plunges with several waterfalls through a small ravine to a basin created by the former Krunkelbach valley glacier.
. Below the village center, the Alb form a waterall, locally known as , after the Roman town of Tusculum
. The Alb, like most rivers in this part of the Black Forest, then changes its course by about 60 degrees, towards the south. This is thought to be caused by tectonic movements of the Earth's crust (geology)
, which have increased the gradient
to the High Rhine
. The only valley that continues in a south-eastern direction is located about 200 meters higher, in the saddle near Häusern
. During the ice age, the Alb glacier was about 300 meter high in this area, and its meltwater overflowed the Häusern saddle, into the Schwarza
valley.
Below this bend, the Alb water is collected in a reservoir
named Albbecken (average area: 18 hectares; length of the dam: about 80 meters). Most of the water is piped to a reservoir named Schwarzabruck. Both reservoirs are owned by Schluchseewerk AG.
The Alb then flows through a 200 to 400 meters wide valley, lined by meadows, which contains the villages of Schlageter and Immeneich. The valley is no longer bordered by narrow, wooded ridges, but instead by the wavy Hotzenwald plateau in the municipalities Dachsberg
und Höchenschwand
. The plateau is indented by bogs and rocky hilltops.
During the Würm ice age, the Alb glacier ended at the point where we now find the village of Niedermühle. With a length of 27 kilometers, the Alb glacier was the longest in the Black Forest. Downstream of Niedermühle, the valley is very narrow, leaving no room for settlements.
through the valley now accupied by the Mühlbach. This route was blocked by glacial deposits during an earlier ice age, forcing the Alb to find a new route to the Rhine. Since then, the "new" gorge cuts through the granite rock. This section cannot be travelled without special equipent, even though the water flow is usually low, because most of the water has been diverted. It there is sufficient water, canoeing
is possible, although this is considered the most difficult stretch of whitewater
in Germany. In this section the road runs up to 100 meters above the river and passes through five short tunnels drilled through the cliffs, ging it the nickname "Axenstraße of the Black Forest". From the hamlet Hohenfels, the road descends to the valley floor at Albbruck
, where the Alb flows into the High Rhine
.
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
. It arises from two headwaters, the Menzenschwander Alb and Bernauer Alb and flows in a southerly direction. It ends after 42.8 km at a confluence with the High Rhine
High Rhine
The High Rhine is the name used in Germany for the part of the Rhine River that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel.The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine in Basel...
at Albbruck
Albbruck
Albbruck is a village in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
.
Etymology
The name Alb is possibly derived from a Proto-Indo-europeanProto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
word *albhos meaning "white" or perheps "river".
Headwaters
The headwaters of the Menzenschwander Alb lie on the southern slope of the FeldbergFeldberg (Black Forest)
It is not to be confused with the two smaller hills in Hochtaunuskreis district some 300 km to the North, Kleiner Feldberg and Großer Feldberg in the Taunus....
mountain range in the Landkreis of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Waldshut, Lörrach and the French départements of the Haut-Rhin and the Bas-Rhin. The district-free city of Freiburg is surrounded by the district...
. The Bernauer Alb rises on the southern slope of the Herzogenhorn
Herzogenhorn
Herzogenhorn is a mountain of Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
. The Menzenschwander Alb is about 12 km long and flows south-east past Menzenschwand. The Bernauer Alb is about 11 km lang; it also flows south-east, past Bernau
Bernau
Bernau may refer to:*Bernau bei Berlin, a town in Brandenburg, Germany*Bernau am Chiemsee, a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany*Bernau im Schwarzwald, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
. The confluence of the two headwaters is at Glashofsäge, about 4 kilometers from Sankt Blasien.
The valleys of both headwaters were widened by glaciers during the ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. Both are about 900 m heigh and dominated by grassland. the Bernau valley is a broad basin, characterized by moraines, marshy valleys, ravines, and Roche moutonnée
Roche moutonnée
In glaciology, a roche moutonnée is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. When a glacier erodes down to bedrock, it can form tear-drop shaped hills that taper in the up-ice direction.-Name:...
s. The hamlets
Hamlets
Hamlets is the name of an open source system for generating web-pages originally developed by René Pawlitzek at IBM...
and isolatd farms that make up the valley lie some distance above the frost-prone valley floor.
The glacial features in the Menzenschwand valley are even more striking. The Menzenschwander Kluse is a well-known terminal moraine
Terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier....
. Below the Kluse, the Menzenschwand Alb plunges with several waterfalls through a small ravine to a basin created by the former Krunkelbach valley glacier.
Middle reaches
The area occupied by the village of Sankt Blasien valley area is dominated by the classistical dome of Sankt Blasien's CathedralCathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. Below the village center, the Alb form a waterall, locally known as , after the Roman town of Tusculum
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:Tusculum is one of the largest Roman cities in Alban Hills. The ruins of Tusculum are located on Tuscolo hill—more specifically on the northern edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...
. The Alb, like most rivers in this part of the Black Forest, then changes its course by about 60 degrees, towards the south. This is thought to be caused by tectonic movements of the Earth's crust (geology)
Crust (geology)
In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...
, which have increased the gradient
Gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field that points in the direction of the greatest rate of increase of the scalar field, and whose magnitude is the greatest rate of change....
to the High Rhine
High Rhine
The High Rhine is the name used in Germany for the part of the Rhine River that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel.The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine in Basel...
. The only valley that continues in a south-eastern direction is located about 200 meters higher, in the saddle near Häusern
Häusern
Häusern is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
. During the ice age, the Alb glacier was about 300 meter high in this area, and its meltwater overflowed the Häusern saddle, into the Schwarza
Schwarza
Schwarza may refer to several places and rivers in Germany and Austria:*Schwarza , a river in Germany, tributary of the Saale*Schwarza , a river in Austria, tributary of the Leitha*Schwarza, part of Rudolstadt, Germany...
valley.
Below this bend, the Alb water is collected in a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
named Albbecken (average area: 18 hectares; length of the dam: about 80 meters). Most of the water is piped to a reservoir named Schwarzabruck. Both reservoirs are owned by Schluchseewerk AG.
The Alb then flows through a 200 to 400 meters wide valley, lined by meadows, which contains the villages of Schlageter and Immeneich. The valley is no longer bordered by narrow, wooded ridges, but instead by the wavy Hotzenwald plateau in the municipalities Dachsberg
Dachsberg
Dachsberg is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
und Höchenschwand
Höchenschwand
Höchenschwand is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
. The plateau is indented by bogs and rocky hilltops.
During the Würm ice age, the Alb glacier ended at the point where we now find the village of Niedermühle. With a length of 27 kilometers, the Alb glacier was the longest in the Black Forest. Downstream of Niedermühle, the valley is very narrow, leaving no room for settlements.
Alb Gorge
The slope of the Alps increased greatly in the ravines and the river forces its way through the more canyon-like passages and blocked sections known as the ("Devil's Kitchen"). The Ibach and Höllbach join from the right, each emerging from its own narrow gorge. The Höllbach has two waterfalls in this area. Because the gorge is so narrow, the road is loacted up to 80 meters higher, on the left bank. On a wider spot in the valley, we find the saw mill Tiefenstein and two tributaries, Schildbach and Steinbach. Half-way up the slope, there are granite quarries and the ruins of two castles. The narrowest and most dangerous passage begins 4 km downstream of Tiefenstein. Long ago, the Alb followed a different course and flowed to HauensteinHauenstein
Hauenstein is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate forest, approximately 20 km east of Pirmasens, and 20 km west of Landau....
through the valley now accupied by the Mühlbach. This route was blocked by glacial deposits during an earlier ice age, forcing the Alb to find a new route to the Rhine. Since then, the "new" gorge cuts through the granite rock. This section cannot be travelled without special equipent, even though the water flow is usually low, because most of the water has been diverted. It there is sufficient water, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
is possible, although this is considered the most difficult stretch of whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
in Germany. In this section the road runs up to 100 meters above the river and passes through five short tunnels drilled through the cliffs, ging it the nickname "Axenstraße of the Black Forest". From the hamlet Hohenfels, the road descends to the valley floor at Albbruck
Albbruck
Albbruck is a village in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, where the Alb flows into the High Rhine
High Rhine
The High Rhine is the name used in Germany for the part of the Rhine River that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel.The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine in Basel...
.