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Where there are mountains, there are valleys.

 

In the Black Forest there are many mountains with a height of over 1,000 meters. In total, there are over a hundred. But where such high mountains rise, there are of course also valleys. On the west side of the Black Forest, i.e. from the direction of the Upper Rhine Graben, these are cut deeply into the flanks of the mountains. On the eastern side, on the other hand, they slope down rather flat and hill-like, and the differences in elevation between mountain and valley are smaller.

 

On the slopes especially of the Upper Black Forest as well as the elevations of the Northern Black Forest, there were glaciers during the last ice age, which had formed some cirque lakes due to their gradual runoff and the gravel carried in them.

 

In the depressions, due to the gradual erosion by the watercourses, mostly the gneiss comes to light, which in combination with several granite bodies, such as the one in Triberg, forms the basement of the Black Forest, while the mountains consist of an overburden layer, which is variegated stone. On the western side, i.e. towards the Upper Rhine Graben, the bedrock is much more prominent than on the eastern side. On the western side, the streams and rivers carry more water than towards the east. In general, the red sandstone layer is stronger in the Northern Black Forest than in the Southern Black Forest.

 

The water of the Black Forest valleys flows into the Rhine or the Danube. Thus, the main European watershed is also partly located in the Black Forest, has its westernmost bulge here. Some of the river sources are enclosed like wells, especially the Danube source near Donaueschingen, as well as the Neckar, Enz, Pregnitz and Berkel sources. The longest river within the Black Forest is the Enz, at 105 kilometers. A few rivers have changed their course in the past, for example the Wutach. In times about 70,000 years ago it was still a tributary of the Danube, which can be seen from its eastern course in its upper reaches. Only at Achdorf it bends with the so-called "Wutach knee" by 100 degrees to the south and then approaches the Rhine.

 

The valley of the Elz also makes a tight bend as it winds around the mountain Gschasikopf. Another valley is famous not so much for geological reasons, but for television: The Glottertal provided the backdrop for the soap opera "Die Schwarzwaldklinik", which was very popular in the eighties. Even though the series is no longer running, the Glottertal is worth a visit.

 

The Höllental is worth seeing because of its narrow incisions. In it, the Höllental Railway, named after it, winds its way from Freiburg up to Titisee-Neustadt. At its upper end is the four-kilometer-long Ravenna Gorge, which is very primal with its waterfalls.

 

The 25-kilometer-long Simonswald Valley with its slopes up to 700 meters high is also rather wild. It contains a ban forest area and the forty meter high Zweribacher waterfalls.

 

One of the most striking valleys and at the same time the border between the northern and southern Black Forest is the Kinzig Valley. Near Hausach, it lies 550 meters lower than the surrounding mountains and is relatively wide. Together with its tributaries, the river Kinzig forms the most water-rich and widely branched body of water in the Black Forest. Here, as well as in the side valleys, mining took place early on; cobalt and silver were mined near Schenkenzell. This valley was already developed by the Romans through the Kinzigtal road.

 

There are also several caves that you can visit, such as the Erdmannshöhle in Hasel.