The Eichelnkopf is a 545.7 m high hill in the southwestern part of the Harz Mountains in the central German

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...

 state of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

.

Geography

The Eichelnkopf lies about 3.5 km east of Herzberg am Harz

Herzberg am Harz

Herzberg am Harz is a town in the Osterode district of Lower Saxony, Germany.- History :Herzberg castle was first mentioned in 1154. The town was part of the state of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, and the castle was for some time used as a residence by the dukes...

, about 3.5 km north of Scharzfeld

Scharzfeld

Scharzfeld is a village in the borough of Herzberg am Harz in the district of Osterode am Harz in South Lower Saxony, Germany.Scharzfeld lies at a height of about 220 m above sea level and has 1,765 inhabitants ....

 and about 2.5 km southwest of the Großer Knollen

Großer Knollen

The Großer Knollen is a high mountain in the southwestern part of the Harz in Lower Saxony, Germany.- Geography :The Großer Knollen is located northeast of Herzberg am Harz and Scharzfeld, north of Bad Lauterberg im Harz and south of the hamlet of Sieber...

. Its nearest neighbour is the Mittelecke. The hill is completely forested.

Walking

There is a trail that runs from the north and over the summit. The last 300 m below the summit, with an incline of up to 34%, is especially challenging for mountain bikers. On the south slope of the Eichelnkopf, a trail runs past the 300-year old "Owl Oak" (Euleneiche).

Geology

On the eastern slopes is an isolated outcrop of dark argillaceous slate (Tonschiefer) from the Silurian

Silurian

The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...

period, which is one of the oldest rocks in the entire Harz.

Sources

• Topographische Karte 1:25000 Nr. 4328 Bad Lauterberg im Harz
• Geologische Karte Harz 1:100000, Herausgegeben vom Landesamt für Geologie und Bergwesen Sachsen-Anhalt in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Niedersächsischen Landesamt für Bodenforschung, Halle 1998, ISBN 3-929951-20-7