Germany Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Geography == {{Main|Geography of Germany}} [[File:Deutschland topo.jpg|thumb|A physical map of Germany]] Germany is the [[List of European countries by area|seventh-largest country]] in Europe;<ref name="CIA">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/germany/ |title=Germany |website=World Factbook |publisher=CIA |accessdate=29 March 2020 |archivedate=9 January 2021 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109075739/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/germany |url-status=live }}</ref> bordering [[Denmark]] to the north, [[Poland]] and the [[Czech Republic]] to the east, [[Austria]] to the southeast, and [[Switzerland]] to the south-southwest. [[France]], [[Luxembourg]] and [[Belgium]] are situated to the west, with the [[Netherlands]] to the northwest. Germany is also bordered by the North Sea and, at the north-northeast, by the Baltic Sea. German territory covers {{convert|357022|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, consisting of {{convert|348672|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of land and {{convert|8350|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of water. Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Alps (highest point: the [[Zugspitze]] at {{convert|2963|m|ft|0|disp=or}}) in the south to the shores of the North Sea ({{lang|de|Nordsee}}) in the northwest and the [[Baltic Sea]] ({{lang|de|Ostsee}}) in the northeast. The forested uplands of central Germany and the lowlands of northern Germany (lowest point: in the municipality [[Neuendorf-Sachsenbande]], [[Wilstermarsch]] at {{convert|3.54|m|ft|1|disp=or}} below sea level<ref>{{cite journal|title=17: Gebiet und geografische Angaben|journal=Statistische Jahrbuch Schleswig-Holstein 2019/2020|page=307|publisher=Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein|date=2020|language=de|url=https://www.statistik-nord.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Jahrb%C3%BCcher/Schleswig-Holstein/JB19SH_17_fertig.pdf|accessdate=8 September 2020|archivedate=28 October 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028083227/https://www.statistik-nord.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Jahrb%C3%BCcher/Schleswig-Holstein/JB19SH_17_fertig.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>) are traversed by such major rivers as the Rhine, [[Danube]] and Elbe. Significant natural resources include iron ore, coal, [[potash]], timber, [[lignite]], [[uranium]], copper, natural gas, salt, and nickel.<ref name="CIA" /> === Climate === Most of Germany has a [[temperate]] climate, ranging from [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] in the north and west to [[Continental climate|continental]] in the east and southeast. Winters range from the cold in the Southern Alps to cool and are generally overcast with limited precipitation, while summers can vary from hot and dry to cool and rainy. The northern regions have prevailing westerly winds that bring in moist air from the North Sea, moderating the temperature and increasing precipitation. Conversely, the southeast regions have more extreme temperatures.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Climate|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Germany: Climate|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323124307/https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Climate|archivedate=23 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> From February 2019 – 2020, average monthly temperatures in Germany ranged from a low of {{convert|3.3|C}} in January 2020 to a high of {{convert|19.8|C}} in June 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/982472/average-monthly-temperature-germany/|website=Statista|title=Average monthly temperature in Germany from February 2019 to February 2020|date=February 2020|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323124304/https://www.statista.com/statistics/982472/average-monthly-temperature-germany/|archivedate=23 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Average monthly precipitation ranged from 30 litres per square metre in February and April 2019 to 125 litres per square metre in February 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/982744/average-monthly-precipitation-germany/|website=Statista|title=Average monthly precipitation in Germany from February 2019 to February 2020|date=February 2020|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323124319/https://www.statista.com/statistics/982744/average-monthly-precipitation-germany/|archivedate=23 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Average monthly hours of sunshine ranged from 45 in November 2019 to 300 in June 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/982758/average-sunshine-hours-germany/|title=Average monthly sunshine hours in Germany from February 2019 to February 2020|website=Statista|date=February 2020|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323124317/https://www.statista.com/statistics/982758/average-sunshine-hours-germany/|archivedate=23 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> === Biodiversity === [[File:Herbst am Watzmann.jpg|thumb|[[Berchtesgaden National Park]] in [[Bavaria]]]] The territory of Germany can be divided into five terrestrial [[ecoregion]]s: [[Atlantic mixed forests]], [[Baltic mixed forests]], [[Central European mixed forests]], [[Western European broadleaf forests]], and [[Alps conifer and mixed forests]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|doi-access=free|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref> {{As of|2016}} 51% of Germany's land area is devoted to agriculture, while 30% is forested and 14% is covered by settlements or infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/climate-impact-farming-land-use-change-and-forestry-germany|title=Climate impact of farming, land use (change) and forestry in Germany|last=Appunn|first=Kerstine|website=Clean Energy Wire|date=30 October 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513071605/https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/climate-impact-farming-land-use-change-and-forestry-germany|archivedate=13 May 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Plants and animals include those generally common to Central Europe. According to the National Forest Inventory, [[beeches]], [[oak]]s, and other [[deciduous]] trees constitute just over 40% of the forests; roughly 60% are [[conifers]], particularly [[spruce]] and [[pine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundeswaldinventur.de/en/third-national-forest-inventory/the-forest-habitat-more-biological-diversity-in-the-forests/spruce-pine-beech-oak-the-most-common-tree-species/|accessdate=23 March 2020|title=Spruce, pine, beech, oak – the most common tree species|website=Third National Forest Inventory|publisher=Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324013625/https://www.bundeswaldinventur.de/en/third-national-forest-inventory/the-forest-habitat-more-biological-diversity-in-the-forests/spruce-pine-beech-oak-the-most-common-tree-species/|archivedate=24 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> There are many species of [[fern]]s, [[flowers]], [[fungi]], and [[mosses]]. Wild animals include [[Central European red deer|roe deer]], [[Central European boar|wild boar]], [[mouflon]] (a subspecies of wild sheep), [[Red fox|fox]], [[European badger|badger]], [[European hare|hare]], and small numbers of the [[Eurasian beaver]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Adventure Guide Germany |last=Bekker |first=Henk |publisher=Hunter |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-58843-503-3 |page=14}}</ref> The blue [[cornflower]] was once a German [[floral emblem|national symbol]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5GBAAAAMAAJ |title=Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe: Herbs |last1=Marcel Cleene |last2=Marie Claire Lejeune |publisher=Man & Culture |year=2002 |pages=194–196 |isbn=978-90-77135-04-4 |accessdate=3 June 2020 |archivedate=6 June 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606042551/https://books.google.com/books?id=g5GBAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[List of national parks of Germany|16 national parks in Germany]] include the [[Jasmund National Park]], the [[Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park]], the [[Müritz National Park]], the [[Wadden Sea National Parks]], the [[Harz National Park]], the [[Hainich National Park]], the [[Black Forest National Park]], the [[Saxon Switzerland National Park]], the [[Bavarian Forest National Park]] and the [[Berchtesgaden National Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfn.de/en/activities/protected-areas/national-parks.html|title=National Parks|publisher=Federal Agency for Nature Conservation|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324013623/https://www.bfn.de/en/activities/protected-areas/national-parks.html|archivedate=24 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, there are [[Biosphere Reserves in Germany|17 Biosphere Reserves]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfn.de/en/activities/protected-areas/biosphere-reserves.html|title=Biosphere reserves|publisher=Federal Agency for Nature Conservation|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324013622/https://www.bfn.de/en/activities/protected-areas/biosphere-reserves.html|archivedate=24 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Nature parks (Germany)|105 nature parks]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfn.de/en/activities/protected-areas/nature-parks.html|title=Nature parks|publisher=Federal Agency for Nature Conservation|accessdate=23 March 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419120316/https://www.bfn.de/en/activities/protected-areas/nature-parks.html|archivedate=19 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> More than [[List of zoos in Germany|400 zoos and animal parks]] operate in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.americanzoos.info/Zoofacts.html |title=Zoo Facts |publisher=Zoos and Aquariums of America |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031007010357/http://www.americanzoos.info/Zoofacts.html |archivedate=7 October 2003 |accessdate=16 April 2011}}</ref> The [[Berlin Zoological Garden|Berlin Zoo]], which opened in 1844, is the oldest in Germany, and claims the most comprehensive collection of species in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.zoo-berlin.de/zoo/unternehmen/historie.html |title=Der Zoologische Garten Berlin |publisher=Zoo Berlin |language=German |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430015152/http://www.zoo-berlin.de/zoo/unternehmen/historie.html |archivedate=30 April 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref> {{Clear}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page