Beckum Hills
Encyclopedia
The Beckum Hills named after the town of Beckum
, are a range of low hills, up to , in the region of Münsterland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia
(Germany
). Along with the Baumberge
and its foothills and the Haltern Hills
they are among the few prominent elevations in the otherwise gently rolling Münsterland (which lies at in the centre), the River Werse passes the ridge at to the east and the Lippe passing it at a height of near Hamm
-Uentrop at some distance away from their highest point.
In terms of natural region
s the Beckum Hills belong to the Kernmünsterland
, being located in the southeast of that region.
(west), Wadersloh
(southeast), Oelde
(northeast) and Ennigerloh
(northwest) - all in Warendorf district. Their extreme southwest lies in the municipality of Lippetal
(Soest district).
The ridge is in the shape of a horseshoe, open towards the west, surrounding the town of Beckum which lies west of its centre. The northern heights are lower than those to the east and south. The hills frame the Kernmünsterland
, lying southeast of its centre, falling gently towards the inside of the horseshoe, but dropping sharply to the surrounding plain on the outside.
formed from Cretaceous
marine deposits. From the centre of a basin near Beckum, which is open towards the west, the terrain ascends, especially to the south and east, but also to the north, initially gradually up to the highest elevations of the range. On the southern edge of the Beckum Basin the Höxberg Scarp (Höxbergstufe) rises to the hill of Höxberg in the south and climbs up to the Mackenberg in the east. On the far side of the ridge the land falls abruptly into the plain. Further out is the rather lower Stromberg Scarp (Strombergstufe) which falls just as steeply towards the outside and is named after the village of Stromberg northeast of Beckum. In the northeast of the Beckum Hills is the Dromberg Scarp (Drombergstufe), named after the Dromberg (< 100 m, east of Ennigerloh
-Ostenfelde), which only rises around 20 m over the surrounding area.
The steep outward-facing escarpments are often covered by rough pasture
, otherwise the natural climax vegetation
alternates between beech woods and oak
/hornbeam
woods. Crops are grown here except on the slopes and in the hollows, mainly wheat
and oats
.
The main mineral deposit is limestone
, which is quarried in Beckum
and Ennigerloh
in large quantities and used by the cement
industry in the area. Formerly, strontianite
was also mined and used as a whitener for the sugar industry.
, which leaves the hills to the west before turning north and later flowing into the Ems. Streams flowing northwards (Axtbach
) (north) or eastwards (e. g. the Fortbach, Linzelbach and Bergeler Bach) from the hills converge on the Ems, whilst those flowing south (Liese
, Biesterbach, Bröggelbach) empty into the Lippe.
and Stromberg and the woods on the Mackenberg and Diestedder Berg.
Beckum
Beckum may refer to:* Beckum, Germany, a town in Germany* Beckum, Overijssel, a town in the Netherlands...
, are a range of low hills, up to , in the region of Münsterland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
). Along with the Baumberge
Baumberge
The Baumberge are the highest hills in the natural regions of Münsterland and Kernmünsterland with a maximum height of . They are located between Münster and Coesfeld, which is itself close to the southwest edge of the Baumberge....
and its foothills and the Haltern Hills
Haltern Hills
The Haltern Hills comprise the three ridges of Hohe Mark , Borkenberge and Haard located respectively northwest, east and south of the German town of Haltern am See in Westphalia. They are the only submontane subunit in the major natural region of Westmünsterland, and are found in the southeast...
they are among the few prominent elevations in the otherwise gently rolling Münsterland (which lies at in the centre), the River Werse passes the ridge at to the east and the Lippe passing it at a height of near Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
-Uentrop at some distance away from their highest point.
In terms of natural region
Natural region
A Natural region is one which is distinguished by its natural features of geography and usually more important, geology. The natural ecology of the region is likely to be significant but one of these factors tends to influence the others....
s the Beckum Hills belong to the Kernmünsterland
Kernmünsterland
The Kernmünsterland is a major landscape unit in western Germany. It covers an area of about 2700 km² and lies at the heart of the Westphalian Basin and the historic region of Münsterland in the north of Westphalia...
, being located in the southeast of that region.
Location
The Beckum Hills lie in the southeastern part of Münsterland, mainly on the territory of the municipalities of BeckumBeckum
Beckum may refer to:* Beckum, Germany, a town in Germany* Beckum, Overijssel, a town in the Netherlands...
(west), Wadersloh
Wadersloh
Wadersloh is a municipality in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km north-west of Lippstadt and 30 km east of Hamm. In it there is a grammar school which is named Gymnasium Johanneum. Wadersloh was the place of a bike race in 2008...
(southeast), Oelde
Oelde
Oelde is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum.-Division of the town:Oelde consists of 5 districts:* Oelde* Stromberg* Lette* Sünninghausen* Kirchspiel...
(northeast) and Ennigerloh
Ennigerloh
Ennigerloh is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 25 km northeast of Hamm and 30 km southeast of Münster....
(northwest) - all in Warendorf district. Their extreme southwest lies in the municipality of Lippetal
Lippetal
Lippetal is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Lippetal is located north and south of the river Lippe between the cities of Lippstadt and Hamm . Lippetal is situated at the northern boundary of the Soester Börde, south of the river Lippe and...
(Soest district).
The ridge is in the shape of a horseshoe, open towards the west, surrounding the town of Beckum which lies west of its centre. The northern heights are lower than those to the east and south. The hills frame the Kernmünsterland
Kernmünsterland
The Kernmünsterland is a major landscape unit in western Germany. It covers an area of about 2700 km² and lies at the heart of the Westphalian Basin and the historic region of Münsterland in the north of Westphalia...
, lying southeast of its centre, falling gently towards the inside of the horseshoe, but dropping sharply to the surrounding plain on the outside.
Natural region divisions
The Beckum Hills are divided as follows (the smaller subdivisions link to the villages after which they are named):- (to 54 Westphalian Basin) (Westfälische Bucht)
- (to 541 KernmünsterlandKernmünsterlandThe Kernmünsterland is a major landscape unit in western Germany. It covers an area of about 2700 km² and lies at the heart of the Westphalian Basin and the historic region of Münsterland in the north of Westphalia...
)- 541.3 Beckum Hills (Beckumer Berge)
- 541.30 Dolberg Heights (Dolberger Höhen) - south
- 541.31 Stromberg Plateau (Stromberger Platte) - east
- 541.32 OeldeOeldeOelde is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum.-Division of the town:Oelde consists of 5 districts:* Oelde* Stromberg* Lette* Sünninghausen* Kirchspiel...
Riedelland (Oelder Riedelland) - northeast - 541.33 BeckumBeckumBeckum may refer to:* Beckum, Germany, a town in Germany* Beckum, Overijssel, a town in the Netherlands...
Basin (Beckumer Mulde) - west - 541.34 EnnigerlohEnnigerlohEnnigerloh is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 25 km northeast of Hamm and 30 km southeast of Münster....
Plateau (Ennigerloher Platte) - northwest
- 541.3 Beckum Hills (Beckumer Berge)
- (to 541 Kernmünsterland
Geology and mineral deposits
The Beckum Hills are a distinctive scarp landscapeCuesta
In structural geology and geomorphology, a cuesta is a ridge formed by gently tilted sedimentary rock strata in a homoclinal structure. Cuestas have a steep slope, where the rock layers are exposed on their edges, called an escarpment or, if more steep, a cliff...
formed from Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
marine deposits. From the centre of a basin near Beckum, which is open towards the west, the terrain ascends, especially to the south and east, but also to the north, initially gradually up to the highest elevations of the range. On the southern edge of the Beckum Basin the Höxberg Scarp (Höxbergstufe) rises to the hill of Höxberg in the south and climbs up to the Mackenberg in the east. On the far side of the ridge the land falls abruptly into the plain. Further out is the rather lower Stromberg Scarp (Strombergstufe) which falls just as steeply towards the outside and is named after the village of Stromberg northeast of Beckum. In the northeast of the Beckum Hills is the Dromberg Scarp (Drombergstufe), named after the Dromberg (< 100 m, east of Ennigerloh
Ennigerloh
Ennigerloh is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 25 km northeast of Hamm and 30 km southeast of Münster....
-Ostenfelde), which only rises around 20 m over the surrounding area.
The steep outward-facing escarpments are often covered by rough pasture
Rough pasture
Rough pasture is non-intensive grazing pasture, commonly found on poor soils, especially in hilly areas, throughout the world.-External links:*, Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland...
, otherwise the natural climax vegetation
Climax vegetation
Climax vegetation is the vegetation which establishes itself on a given site for given climatic conditions in the absence of anthropic action after a long time ....
alternates between beech woods and oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
/hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
woods. Crops are grown here except on the slopes and in the hollows, mainly wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
.
The main mineral deposit is limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, which is quarried in Beckum
Beckum
Beckum may refer to:* Beckum, Germany, a town in Germany* Beckum, Overijssel, a town in the Netherlands...
and Ennigerloh
Ennigerloh
Ennigerloh is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 25 km northeast of Hamm and 30 km southeast of Münster....
in large quantities and used by the cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
industry in the area. Formerly, strontianite
Strontianite
Strontianite is an important raw material for the extraction of strontium. It is a rare carbonate mineral and one of only a few strontium minerals...
was also mined and used as a whitener for the sugar industry.
History
South of Beckum and roughly southeast of the Hermannsberg hill is the cultural monument of Germanenlager, site of a Germanic camp. North of the hill is another one on a Germanic burial site (Germanengräber).Streams
The Kollenbach, Lippbach and Siechenbach streams all rise in the Beckum Hills and unite as the WerseWerse
The Werse is a 67 km long, left-hand tributary of the River Ems in Münsterland, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The catchment area of the Werse is 762.47 km². Its name may be derived from a pre-Indo-European language, Vasconic, from which the Basque language developed. Its water...
, which leaves the hills to the west before turning north and later flowing into the Ems. Streams flowing northwards (Axtbach
Axtbach
Axtbach is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia...
) (north) or eastwards (e. g. the Fortbach, Linzelbach and Bergeler Bach) from the hills converge on the Ems, whilst those flowing south (Liese
Liese (river)
Liese is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
, Biesterbach, Bröggelbach) empty into the Lippe.
Woods
The larger woods on the Beckum Hills are the Vellerner Brook, der Hohe Hagen near Neubeckum, the Bergeler Wald between OeldeOelde
Oelde is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum.-Division of the town:Oelde consists of 5 districts:* Oelde* Stromberg* Lette* Sünninghausen* Kirchspiel...
and Stromberg and the woods on the Mackenberg and Diestedder Berg.
High points
Amongst the high points on the Beckum Hills are (in order of height in metres (m) above sea level (NN):- Mackenberg (174.4 m), west of Sünninghausen - Stromberg Plateau and eastern edge of the Beckum Basin
- Höxberg (162.6 m), south of BeckumBeckumBeckum may refer to:* Beckum, Germany, a town in Germany* Beckum, Overijssel, a town in the Netherlands...
, with an observation tower, the Soestwarte, to the south - Dolberg Heights and southern edge of the Beckum Basin - Unnamed hill summit (154.6 m; with church), on the southern edge of Stromberg - Stromberg Plateau
- Unnamed hill summit (147.9 m), in Keitlinghausen (south of OeldeOeldeOelde is a town in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum.-Division of the town:Oelde consists of 5 districts:* Oelde* Stromberg* Lette* Sünninghausen* Kirchspiel...
) - Stromberg Plateau - Unnamed hill summit (146.0 m), northwest of Stromberg - Stromberg Plateau
- Unnamed hill summit (143.9 m), northeast Sünninghausen - Stromberg Plateau
- Diestedder Berg (139.8 m), northwest of Diestedde - Stromberg Plateau
- Önkhausberg (136.4 m), southeast of Dünninghausen - in the south of the Stromberg Plateau
- Fackenberg (129.0 m), between Beckum and Lippborg - Dolberg Heights
- Hermannsberg (128.2 m), south of Beckum, with the cultural monuments of ‘’Germanenlager’’ and ‘’Germanengräber’’ - Dolberg Heights
- Brunsberg (125.7 m), southwest of Beckum - Dolberg Heights
- Dalmer Berg (122.3 m), south of Beckum - Dolberg Heights
External links
- Natural region maps from the 1:200.000 series of the Federal Institute for Regional Studies (Bundesinstitut für Landeskunde) -the Beckum Hills are all on the "541.3" ending units on Sheet 97 - Münster (east of the sheet)