Between the rivers Rhine, Main and Neckar stretches on more than 3800 km² a vast landscape with diverse nature and geology: the area of the Geo-Naturepark Bergstrasse-Odenwald (UNESCO Global Geopark). The diverse landscape of the territory is a reflection of the geological underground. The wide, flat valley of the Rhine is followed by the gentle crests of the crystalline Odenwald. The red sandstone Odenwald, on the other hand, is dominated by extensive plateaus interspersed with deep valleys. The adjacent Muschelkalk landscape to the east is characterized by typical karst features (caves and sinkholes). This landscape was formed by two major tectonic processes: A continent collision in the Palaeozoic age (Variscian Orogeny) and the development of the Rhine Rift Valley about 50 million years ago in the Ceonozoic age. Today, the variety of magmatic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks as well as the landscape itself are witness of these global processes.

Website address:  http://www.geo-naturpark.net/en/