MECKLENBURGWEST POMERANIA

German Mecklenburg-vorpommern, Land (state), northeastern Germany. It extends about 100 miles (160 km) along the Baltic Sea coastal plain, from the Bight of Lbeck on the west to the Darss Peninsula on the east, with a hinterland that stretches southward to the lower Elbe River in the west and beyond the sources of the Havel River in the east. MecklenburgWest Pomerania Land is coterminous with the historic region of Mecklenburg (q.v.). The Land was re-created just before the unification of East and West Germany in 1990 from the East German Bezirke (districts) of Rostock and most of Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. It covers the northernmost one-fifth of what was formerly East Germany. The capital is Schwerin. Most of MecklenburgWest Pomerania drains into the Baltic. The central part of the Land is traversed from west to east by a plateau of hilly country covered by fertile soil and beech forests and having more than 600 lakes, the largest being Lake Mritz in the south. The southwest, between the plateau and the Elbe, has poor sandy soils, pine forests, and marshy valleys. In the north the plateau has good clay soils. Along the coast, steep cliffs alternate with beaches and dunes. The Land lies wholly within the North European Plain. Agriculture is the most important economic activity in MecklenburgWest Pomerania. The chief crops are rye, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, and hay. Smaller areas are devoted to corn (maize), peas, rape, hemp, and flax. The region's pastures support herds of sheep, cattle, and horses, and fishing is carried on in the inland lakes. Mecklenburg is relatively sparsely populated, and its only significant urban centres are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg. Area 9,202 square miles (23,835 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 1,924,000.