RHINE PROVINCE or RHINELAND, the most westerly province of Prussia, bounded on the north by Holland, on the east by the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and Hesse-Nassau, and the Republic of Hesse, on the south-east by the Bavarian Palatinate, on the south and south-west by Lorraine, and on the west by Luxemburg, Belgium and Holland. The small district of Wetzlar in the midst of the province of Hesse-Nassau also belongs to the Rhine province, which, on the other hand, sur rounds the Oldenburg province of Birkenfeld. The districts of Eupen and Malmedy in the West were ceded to Belgium in 192o. The extent of the Rhine province is 9,257 sq.m., excluding the Saar District, which has an area of 738 sq. miles. It includes about 200 m. of the course of the Rhine, which forms the eastern frontier of the province from Bingen to Coblenz, and then flows through it in a north-westerly direction.
The southern and larger part of the Rhine province, belong ing geologically to the Devonian formations of the lower Rhine, is hilly. On the left bank are the elevated plateaus of the Hunsriick and the Eifel, separated from each other by the deep valley of the Mosel, while on the right bank are the spurs of the Westerwald and the Sauerland, the former reaching the river in the picturesque group known as the Seven Mountains (Sie bengebirge). The highest hill in the province is the Walder beskopf (2,670 ft.) in the Hochwald, and there are several other summits above 2,000 ft. on the left bank, while on the right there are few which attain a height of 1,60o ft. Most of the hills are covered with trees, but the Eifel (q.v.) is a barren and bleak plateau. To the north of a line drawn from Aix-la-Chapelle to Bonn the province is flat, and marshy districts occur near the Dutch frontier. The climate varies considerably with the con figuration of the surface. That of the northern lowlands and of the sheltered valleys is the mildest and most equable in Prussia, with a mean annual temperature of 50°, while on the hills of the Eifel the mean does not exceed The annual rainfall varies in the different districts from 18 to 32 inches. Almost the whole province belongs to the basin of the Rhine, but a small district in the north-west is drained by affluents of the Meuse.
Of the numerous tributaries which join the Rhine within the province, the most important are the Nahe, the Mosel and the Ahr on the left bank, and the Sieg, the Wupper, the Ruhr and the Lippe on the right. The only lake of any size is the Laacher See, the largest of the extinct crater lakes of the Eifel.
Little except oats and potatoes can be raised on the high-lying plateaus in the south of the province, but on the lower ground cereal crops and fruit are grown, and tobacco, hops, flax, rape, hemp and beetroot (for sugar) are cultivated for commercial purposes. Vine-culture occupies about 30,00o acres, about half of which are in the valley of the Mosel, a third in that of the Rhine itself, and the rest mainly on the Nahe and the Ahr. The choicest varieties of Rhine wine, however, such as Johannis berger and Steinberger, are produced higher up the river, beyond the limits of the Rhine province. In the hilly districts more than half the surface is sometimes occupied by forests, and large plantations of oak are formed for the use of the bark in tanning. Considerable herds of cattle are reared on the rich pastures of the lower Rhine, but the number of sheep is small. The wooded hills are well stocked with deer, and a stray wolf occasionally finds its way from the forests of the Ardennes into those of the HunsrUck. The salmon fishery of the Rhine is very productive, and trout abound in the mountain streams.
The Rhine province is very rich in mineral resources. Besides parts of the carboniferous measures of the Saar and the Ruhr, it also contains important deposits of coal near Aix-la-Chapelle. Iron ore is found in abundance near Coblenz, the Bleiberg in the Eifel possesses an apparently inexhaustible supply of lead, and zinc is found near Cologne and Aix-la-Chapelle. The mineral products of the district also include lignite, copper, manganese, vitriol, lime, gypsum, volcanic stones (used for millstones) and slates. By far the most important item is coal. Of the numerous mineral springs the best known are those of Aix-la-Chapelle and Kreuznach.