The Hondsrug is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 ridge of sand that is mainly located in the province Drenthe

Drenthe

Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...

 and partly in the province Groningen

Groningen (province)

Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...

. The spur of the Hondsrug in Groningen has led to the creation of various villages build on artificial dwelling hill

Artificial dwelling hill

An artificial dwelling hill is a mound, created to provide safe ground during high tide and river floods....

s:
Adorp

Adorp

Adorp is a village in the municipality of Winsum, in the Netherlands. It is located about 6 km north of Groningen.Until 1990, Adorp was a separate municipality.Adorp is next to Sauwerd and Groningen...

, Sauwerd

Sauwerd

Sauwerd is a village in the municipality of Winsum, Groningen, Netherlands.The village of Sauwerd is 10 to 15 kilometers away from its nearest city Groningen. The village is built on a wierde, to which it also owes its name. It is inhabited by an estimated 1,100 people...

, Wetsinge, Winsum

Winsum

Winsum is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.The town of Winsum was officially established in 1057 as the fusion of three historic villages: Obergum , Winsum and Bellingeweer...

, Baflo

Baflo

Baflo is a village in the municipality of Winsum, Netherlands.Famous people born in Baflo include humanist Rudolf Agricola and jurist Gezina van der Molen ....

, Rasquert, Warffum

Warffum

Warffum is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Eemsmond. It was a separate municipality until 1990, when it became a part of Hefshuizen, which has been known as Eemsmond since January 1, 1992....

, Usquert

Usquert

Usquert is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Eemsmond.Usquert was a separate municipality until 1990, when it became part of Hefshuizen. After that, the name of the municipality was changed to Eemsmond in 1992....

, Rottum

Rottum (Groningen)

Rottum is a small village on an artificial dwelling hill between Kantens and Usquert in the municipality of Eemsmond, falling under the province Groningen in the Netherlands. The village currently counts about 165 inhabitants.-Heathen chapel:...

.

The name "Hondsrug" would appear to be taken from the Dutch word for "dog" or "hound" (Hond) and the word for a "back" or "ridge" (Rug). However, it is more likely a bastardization of the older name Hunze-rug, coming from the name of the river Hunze, which flows through Drenthe and Groningen. Up until the 19th century the Hondsrug was also known as the Bisschopsrug, meaning "Bishop's Ridge."

The ridge has northwest-southeast orientation, which it shares with some less pronounced parallel ridges. These ridges are generally thought to be glacial landforms

Glacial landforms

Glacial landforms are those created by the action of glaciers. Most of today's glacial landforms were created by the movement of large ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations...

. It has been debated what kind of landform it should be, suggestions ranging from medial moraines to mega-flutes.

More recently the term Hondsrug is used to denote a famous building and its street in Lunetten

Lunetten

Lunetten is a neighbourhood in the southeastern part of the city of Utrecht, that has approximately 12,000 inhabitants. It is mainly a residential area, since there is no significant industry present. Lunetten was constructed as an urban experiment mostly during the 1970s and 80s...

, an area in the South-East of Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

 in The Netherlands.

See also

• Hunsrück
  Hunsrück
  The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
  
  
• Hausruck
  Hausruckviertel
  The Hausruckviertel is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria: it is one of four "quarters" of Upper Austria the others being Traunviertel, Mühlviertel, and Innviertel...