Geography of Germany

Contents

Overview Mountain ranges, rivers and seas Agriculture North, Midlands and South Industries Resources Tourism

Overview position: Central Europe

size: 138,000 m² (miles)

capital: Berlin

population: 82.000.000

16 Bundesländer neighbouring countries:

Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark

highest mountain:Zugspitze (2963m)

longest rivers:Rhine 865 kmElbe 700km

Mountains & rivers

Mountains:

Germany is more flat in the North than in the South

South (Bavaria): foothills of the Alps a lot of (lower) mountains in the

midlands and in Southern Germany

Rivers:

816 rivers and 30 of them are over 200km

most of them are navigable

Oceans

North Sea

marginal sea to the Atlantic Ocean average temperature in the

summer: 18°C average temperature in the

winter: 1°C surface about 575.000 km²

Baltic Ocean

surface about 412.560 km²

Agriculture many fertile soils farmers specialize in corn and animal

breeding mostly the corn is used as animal feed

(fodder) or to provide the nation with food

viticulture is also common on the banks of the Moselle and the Rhine

Germany is divided into three areas: the North the middle part the South

North, Midlands and South

The North: agriculture and cattle farming

Midlands: viticulture on river banks animal breeding corn forestry

The South: mostly animal breeding and dairy

farming because of less fertile soils and weather conditions

Industries Industrial production is one of the most important economic sectors (

companies need to work efficiently to offer top-quality products at competitive prices)

Due to global production networks, companies manage to avoid many trade barriers, e.g. taxes on import and export

Important branches of trade:

Car production Electrical engineering Chemical industry mechanical engineering medical technology logistics

IndustriesThe Ruhrgebiet:

well-known old industrial region

coal, iron and steel industry

used to be in a leading position in the coal, iron and steel industries in Europe

dangerous dependence on monostructure of the economy

industries were no longer competitive Solution: restructuring (e.g. service ind.)

resources can be used in industrial production ( industrial country)

Other resources: silver gold copper tin nickel lithium

Resourceslargest resources:

lignite (Sachsen und Brandenburg) hard coal (Nordrhein-Westfalen) mineral oil (Thüringen, Niedersachsen) natural gas (Thüringen, Niedersachsen) ores in the “Erzgebirge” (Sachsen)

Tourism in Germany

Rock am Ring: One of the biggest music festivals in Germany Once a year, lasts 3 days Nürburgring (Rhineland-Palatinate) 85.000 music enthusiasts artists from all over the world since 1985; future is left open

Berlin: Centre of cultural diversity famous for music and art about 143,000 students of every nation important places: Television tower, Brandenburg Gate, Bundestag

Tourism in Germany

Munich: Oktoberfest FC Bayern Munich (Allianz Arena) University important places: Frauenkirche, Olympic Stadium (1972)

The Alps: Winter Sports ( skiing, snowboarding ) Summer Sports (cycling, hiking , climbing) important places: mountain lakes , Zugspitze (highest point in Germany with 2,962 metres)