Elbe Urstromtal
The Elbe Urstromtal (German: Elbe-Urstromtal) refers to the present-day valley of the Elbe over a length of around 300 kilometres between the Saxony-Anhalt town of Genthin to its mouth into the North Sea near Cuxhaven. The urstromtal, or glacial meltwater valley, emerged at the height of the Weichselian glaciation.
History
The Elbe Urstromtal probably emerged between the coldest period of the Weichselian glaciation, about 22,000 to 18,000 years ago, and the end of the glaciation in North Germany about 14,500 years ago.
At that time the glacier was melting and the waters attempted to find their way to the lowest lying points. The Elbe Urstromtal collected the meltwaters and carried them to the North Sea, which then lay up to 120 metres below its present level. The then coastline was about 600 kilometres further north.
The Elbe Urstromtal also collected the meltwaters of the three urstromtäler, the Glogau-Baruther Urstromtal, Warschau-Berliner Urstromtal and Thorn-Eberswalder Urstromtal and carried them in the direction of the North Sea Basin.
Course
The course of the Elbe Urstromtal roughly follows the course of the present day Elbe river, because – unlike other Urstromtälern – the Elbe Urstromtal has neither dried out nor silted up, but still carries the River Elbe, which has its source in the Bohemian Giant Mountains.
The old course of the meltwater river can be easily made out in the Lower Elbe region. For example, there is still a 50 metre high geest slope from Hamburg-Bergedorf to Geesthacht which was the old river bank. The present-day river bank of the Elbvororte is identical with that of the old river.