Region between Danube, Mühlingen, Pfullendorf, Ostrach, Bad Saulgau and Federsee

Old Drift landscape dominated by the Rift and Mindel glaciation of the Rhine Glacier

Gently rolling hill country

• Decalcified, waterlogged, brown earth (Parabraunerde) in the valleys to great depth, hence meadow and pasture land
• Alternation of open landscape in valleys and forested ridges (pine forests)
• On good soils: arable land

Danube Valley between Mengen and Ulm, region between Herbertingen and Bad Saulgau, Riss Valley from Schemmerhofen to where it joins the Danube

• From Mengen to the narrow gap by the southernmost outliers of the Swabian Jura the floor of the Danube Valley is filled with Würm Ice Age gravels from the Rhine Glacier
• Beyond this gap the Danube flows through a scoured basin of reed marsh

Flat

Much grassland and arable farming

The Riss valley from the south which merges into the Danube valley is more marshy that the Danube valley

The Federsee lies in the middle of this natural region near Bad Buchau

• Former tongue-basins (central basin) from the Riss glaciation with the extensive silted-up areas (Verlandungsgebieten)
• In the south the silted-up areas give way to Young Drift

Flat

• On the silted-up areas there is extensive pastureland in places
• In the transition zone between the silted-up areas and the Young Drift moraines the reeds and wetlands vegetation gives way to stands of coniferous forest

Because the lake has since been filled with sediment and gravel in places, the natural dammed lake was once much large

Region between Danube, Riss and, roughly, the B 312

Tertiary Hill Country, in places however also ice age gravel deposits

Hilly

Agricultural land use predominates because the soils are loamy and fertile

The Bussen is in this region

• Western boundary: Schemmerhofen – Federsee – Bad Waldsee
• Northern boundary: Schemmerhofen – Ochsenhausen
• Eastern boundary: Ochsenhausen – Aitrach – Legau
• Southern boundary: Bad forestsee – Leutkirch im Allgäu
• Boundary between the Western and Eastern Riss-Aitrach Plateaus: Bad Waldsee - Eberhardzell

Riss glaciation terminal or ground moraine landscape

Undulating

• Western part: arable land dominates due to the covering of loess, grassland in the wet valleys
• Eastern part: much of the landscape is wet or boggy; mainly open landscape with meadows and pastures

The Wurzach Ried is in the east of the Riss-Aitrach Plateau

Region between Senden, Aichstetten, Ochsenhausen and Laupheim

• Part of the ice-age formed terraced landscape between Riss and Iller
• Divided by numerous hollows (Muldentäler) and meltwater troughs

Rolling hills

• Mostly loam and loess covered, ridges however loam-free, decalcified and therefore forested
• Rapid alternation of open country (more grassland than arable land) and wooded areas (pine forests)

Landscape still not very dissected

Region between Neu-Ulm, Senden and Laupheim

Comprises various old gravel terraces along the valleys of the Riss and Danube, formed during the Riss glaciation

Intensive arable land use

The south is less dissected by valleys than the north

Iller Valley from Altusried and Dietmannsried to where it joins the Danube at Neu-Ulm

Broad valley filled by large quantities of gravel during and after the ice ages

Flat

The north is used more for arable farming; the south more as grassland

• In the southern part the Iller valley, which has cut down to the Tertiary bedrock, crosses the Young and Old Drift deposits
• In places, continuous alluvial forest, in places still bog

Large fen plain by the Danube between Neu-Ulm and Donauwörth

Würm Ice Age formed, partly boggy gravel plain

Flat

Used predominately for grassland and arable land, which has largely displaced the natural reed beds

Many gravel pits

• Northern boundary: Donauried (Neu-Ulm – Nersingen – Günzburg - Offingen)
• Western boundary: Iller or Günz Valley in places (Neu-Ulm – Illertissen – Kellmünz an der Iller – Babenhausen – Bad Grönenbach)
• Southern boundary: Dietmannsried – Obergünzburg – Friesenried
• Eastern boundary: Mindel between Offingen and Thannhausen – Markt Wald – Bad Wörishofen – Pforzen
• Boundary roughly between the Upper and Lower Iller-Lech Gravel Plateaus: Babenhausen – Mindelheim – Markt Wald

Gently undulating glacial gravels divided into interfluvial ridges and gravel plateaus by river systems flowing from south to north

Gently undulating

• Glacial gravels partly covered by loess
• Interfluvials: Covered by forest (especially pine forests)
• River valleys: in the north more arable land, in the south more grassland

• Gravel extraction in the Mindel and Günz Valleys
• Fens were largely drained

• Between Mindel and Flossach Valley in the west (Offingen, Thannhausen and Türkheim) and the Lech and/or Wertach Valley in the east
• Northern boundary: Offingen – Holzheim – Wertingen – Buttenwiesen
• Boundary between the Stauden Plateau and Zusam Plateau and Stauffenberg region: Thannhausen – Fischach - Stadtbergen

• Region is divided by the Schmutter and Zusam into gently undulating plateaus and flat interfluves
• Numerous bogs on the valley floors of the partly asymmetrically shaped valleys

Gently undulating

• Relatively high proportion of forest and grassland (on the Stauden Plateau higher than in the more northern area of the Zusam Plateau and Stauffenberg region)
• Pine forests dominated the woodland areas

The Stauden Plateau, Zusam Plateau and Stauffenberg region together form the Augsburg-Westliche Wälder Nature Park

• Northern boundary: near Bobingen
• Western boundary: Pforzen – Bad Wörishofen – Rammingen – Bobingen
• Southern boundary: Pforzen – Denklingen
• Eastern boundary: Denklingen – Untermeitingen – Bobingen
• Boundary lies roughly between the Upper and Lower Lech-Wertach Plain: Türkheim – Schwabmünchen - Kaufering

• Divided into lower terrace landscape by the Rivers Wertach and Gennach
• Meadows and lower terraces partly waterlogged

Flat

• The Brennen are covered by pine forests
• Intensive agricultural land use (in the south more grassland, in the north more arable land)

• There are only a few remnants of the formerly widespread heath landscape
• Together the Upper and the Lower Lech-Wertach Plains form the Lechfeld (Lech Plateau)

Between Gennach and Lech, south of Denklingen

• Dominated by the high terrace gravels of the Lech in the north
• In the south dominated by Riss Ice Age morainic material, that covers the Tertiary bedrock

Flat to hilly

Pure forest landscape (mainly pine forests)

Lech Valley from Schongau to Augsburg and from Augsburg to where it joins the Danube

• Extensive deposits of post-glacial gravel between Klosterlechfeld and the confluence with the Danube
• North of Augsburg: broad U-shaped valley (Kastental) with gravel terraces of different ages; steps between the lower terraces and the loess-covered upper terraces 8 to 10 m high
• Meadows and lower terraces waterlogged in places

• Mostly used as grassland
• On the upper terrace chiefly arable farming
• The further north, the more arable farming predominates

• Meadows and lower terraces in places covered by heaths with communities of nutrient-poor, chalk grasses and wasteland plants characteristic of the region
• Almost continuous belt of alluvial forest along the river

• Western boundary: Lech Valley
• Eastern boundary: parallel to state road 2035 (Augsburg-Pöttmes-Neuburg by the Danube)
• Northern boundary: Danube Valley

• High gravel plateau, rising towards the east
• Divided by deep stream valley that are mostly asymmetrical

Hilly

• Thick layer of loess
• Valley floors mainly covered by grassland
• Otherwise arable land predominates

• Western boundary: Mering – Landsberg am Lech – Fuchs Valley
• Eastern boundary: Mering – Geltendorf – Fuchs Valley

Landscape rising from north to south

Gently undulating

Arable land predominates

Together with the Fürstenfeldbruck hill country forms one of the semi-circular Old Drift moraines in front of the adjoining Ammer-Loisach Hills