DA'DEN, Tim GRAND DUCHY OF, is situated at the south-western extremity of the German empire. With an area of 5900 sq.m., it runs m the direction of the valley of the upper Rhine and of the Black Forest, from the southern bend of the Main at Wert heim to the Bodensee or lake of Constance, and is bounded on the n. by Bavaria and :Jesse-Darmstadt; on the e. by Hohenzollern, Wt1rtemberg, Bavaria; and on the w. and s. by the Rhine, which separates it from Rhenish Bavaria, Alsace, and Switzerland. It is divided politically into four circles—the circle of the "Lake," at the s., and the circles of the " Upper Rhine," of the " Central Rhine," and of the " Lower Rhine;" these aro again divided into 79 districts.
Sunfaee and Hydrography.—Physically, 13. falls into two divisions—the western plain, lying along the right bank of the Rhine, and the eastern highlands; the plain occupying about a fifth of the whole duchy, and the hilly part, four fifths. Of the mountain ranges, the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, is the most prominent. See BLACK FOREST. For a distance of 96 tn., it belongs almost exclusively to Baden. It terminates in abrupt declivities towards the w.. and on the e. descends by degrees into the plateau of the Nec kar in Wiirtemberir. It decreases in height from s. to n., its mean elevation being from about 4000 to 2700 ft., and is cut up into sections by numerous deep and wildly romantic valleys. The most remarkable summits are Feldberg and Belchen in the south. The less elevated part of the mountainous division of 13., which lies to the n. of the Murg, receives the general name of the Neckar highlands. as far as to its intersection by the Neckar valley, on the n. side of which the Odenwald begins. Southward, in the circle of the "Lake," rise the extensive plateaus of the Gertnan Jura. This table-land is known by the local name of the In the plain of the " Upper Rhine," between Ali breisach anti Endingen, stands the small isolated basaltic group of the Kaiserstuld, or emperor's seat, rising to the height of 1100 ft., and overlooking the Rhine.
Being drained by the Rhine and the, Danube, 13. belongs to the basins of two oppo site seas; the sources of the Danube, however, drain only about 336 scr.m. in the north ern part of the "Circle of the Lake." Beginning with the Bodensee, which projects three arms or bays on the n.w. into B., the Rhine, in its tumultuous course, forms the s. boundary, interrupted, however, by several encroachments of the Swiss territories upon its ii. bank. From Basel to below iSlanheini, the stream is the only and natural boundary. The chief tributaries of the Rhine, on the B. side, are the Ni char, the Kin zig, the Murg, the Elz, the Dreisam, and the Pfinz. On the n.e. the 13: den territories are bounded by the Main, which there receives the Tauber. Except a pait of the Boden see, B. has no lake of importance. In the Schwarzwald, however, there are the follow ing sheets of water which go by of lakes: Mummelsee, Wildsee, Feldsee, Titisee, and the Nonnenmattweiher, with a floating island.
Climate.—A§ the difference between the highest and lowest poinst of B.—Feldberg, which rises to height of 4860 ft., and Manheiniamounts to something like 4500 ft., there is naturally a great variety of climate, especially in respect of temperature. The mean teniperature of the plains may be stated at 50', and that of the highlands at 44' Fahr., so that the Rhine valley of B. is one of the warmest and most fruitful districts, not only of Germany, but of Europe; the land yielding often, in the case of maize, a. return of more than 300 fold. cherries, apples, and pears grow in abundance, While the western terraces of the Schwarzwald are decked with vines. On these charm ing declivities, the walnut thrives at a height of 1340 ft., the grape at 1450 ft.; other kinds of fruit are cultivated in the higher regions to an elevation of more than 2000 feet. The wild cherry is found even as high as 2600 ft.; the cereals being profitably culti vated to at least an equal height. Oats rise as high even as 3600 ft., above which lie the exclusively pastoral districts.