Pltysical character.—Germany presents two very distinct physical formations. 1. A range of high table-land, occupying the center and southern parts of the country, inter spersed with numerous ranges and groups of mountains, the most important of which are the Harz and Teutoburgerwald, in the n.; the Taunus and Thuringerwald, in the middle; and the Schwarzwald and Rauhe Alps, in the s.; and containing an area, includ ing Alsace and Lorraine, of 110,000 square miles. 2. A vast sandy plain, which extends from the center of the empire n. to the German ocean, and including Slesvig-Ilolstein, contains an area of about 08,000 square miles. This great plain, stretching from the Russian frontier on the e. to the Netherlands on the w. is varied by two terrace-like elevations. The one stretches from the Vistula into Mecklenburg, at no great distance from the coast of the Baltic, and has a mean elevation of 500 to 600 ft., rising in one point near Danzig to 1020 ft.; the other line of elevations begins in Silesia and termi nates in the moorlands of Luneburg, in Hanover, its course being marked by several summits from 500 to 800 ft. in height. A large portion of the plain is occupied by sandy tracts interspersed with deposits of peat; but other parts are moderately fertile, and admit of successful cultivation.
In respect of drainage, the surface Of Germany belongs to three different basins. The Danube (q.v.)from its source in the Schwarzwald to the borders of Austria belongs to Germany, and through this channel the waters of the greater part of Bavaria are poured into the Black sea; thus opening up communication with the east. By far the greater part of the surface, however (about 185,000 sq.m.), has a northern slope, and belongs partly to the basin of the North sea, and partly to the basin of the Baltic. The chief German streams flowing into the North sea are the Rhine (q.v.), the Weser (q.v.), and the Elbe (q.v.); into the taltic, the Oder (q.v.) and the Vistula (q.v.).
The most important of the numerous canals which connect together the great river systems of Germany, are Ludwig's canal in Bavaria, which unites the Danube and Maine, and thus opens a communication between the Black sea and German ocean; the Finow and Friedrieh-Wilhelm's canals in Brandenburgh; the Plane canal, which con nects the Elbe and the Havel; and the Kiel and Eyder canal, unitinr. the Baltic and German ocean. Numerous lakes occur both in the table-land of southern Germany and in the low lands of the northern districts, but few of them are of any great size. Ger many abounds in swamps and marsh-lands, which are especially numerous in the low northern districts. Its mineral springs occur principally in Nassau, WiIrtemburg, Baden, Bavaria, and Rhenish Prussia. Many of these springs have retained their high reputa tion from the earliest ages.
Geology.—The great plain of North Gerniany consists of strata of the same age as the tertiary strata of the Paris basin, covered with very recent sand and mud. Newer
tertiary beds occupy the river basin of the Rhine n. from Mayence; they consist of fine light-colored loam, and contain the the bones of the mammoth, rhinocerons, and other contemporaneous mammals. Erratics are scattered over the n. of Germany. The whole district in the center of Germany, from the Danube northwards to Hanover, con sists of secondary strata. The rocks of the trias period are best known in Germany, the typical rocks of. bunter sandstein, muschel-kalk and keuper being developed here, so as to justify the suitableness of the name trias, which is wholly inapplicable in Britain, where the series is represented by sandstone beds only. The trias is highly fossiliferous, abounding especially in marine• shells, and containing several genera of remarkable labrynthodont saurians. Jurassic rocks occur in central Germany; at Han over they consist of clays and marl, with beds of sandstone and limestone, containing coal and ironstone of such value that they have been extensively wrought. The creta ceous strata are frequently highly altered from the intruded igneous rocks, which have raised the beds in some districts to a nearly vertical position, and have altered them into crystalline marbles and silicious sandstones.
Of the palwzoic rocks, the carboniferous strata are nearly absent in Germany. The coal obtained in the country is from rocks of a later age. True coal-beds are found in Rhenish Prussia. The sedimentary rocks of the Harz mountains are chiefly Devonian; to the s.e., near Herzgerode, they are upper Silurian. They are all greatly dislocated by granite and other intrusive rocks. The Harz mountains are surrounded by a zone of Permian rocks. The stratified rocks of the Thbringerwald are also Devonian, rest ing on lower Silurian strata, the lower portion of which is highly altered into quartzose schists; the remainder consists of greywacke, slate, and sandstone, with limestone and alum slates. There arc numerous fncoid and annelid impressions in the older beds, and graptolites, orthoceratites, and trilobites in the newer.
The basltic rocks, trachytes, and other volcanic products are largely developed in the Eifel, Siebengebirge, Westerwald, Vogels, Rhongebirge, and other mountain systems of central Germany. .
climate of Germany presents less diversity than a first glance at the map might lead one to infer, for the greater heats of the more southern latitudes are considerably modified by the hilly character of the Country in those parallels, while the cold of the northern plains is mitigated by their vicinity to the ocean. The average decrease in the mean temperature is, iu going from s. to n., about 1°F. for every152 m. , and in going from w. to e., about 1° F. for every 72 miles. The line of pgrpetual snow varies from 7,200 to 8,000 ft. above the level of the sea. The mean annual fall of rain is 20 inches. The following table shows the mean annual records of the temperature at different points of the continent: Mean An.