MIDDLE RHINE HIGHLANDS

also called Rhenish Slate Mountains, German Rheinisches Schiefergebirge mountainous highlands lying mainly in northwestern Germany but also extending westward as the Ardennes through southeastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg, with an overlap into eastern France beyond the Meuse River. The Highlands form a greatly varied plateau with areas of rugged relief, as in the Eifel and the Rothaargebirge in the region of Sauerland, though these nowhere exceed 3,000 feet (900 m). Other highlands include the Taunus, the Hunsrck south of the Mosel River, and the Westerwald. Although slates and sandstones are the main rocks, there are volcanic outcrops and considerable areas of limestone where the relief is smoother, the soils more fertile, and the land more densely settled. The plateau is dissected by the gorge of the Rhine River and the deep meanders of its tributaries (notably, the Mosel), and in the western portion the Meuse River flows from south to north. See also Ardennes (plateau).