# Leipzig Bay > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leipzig_Bay > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leipzig_Bay.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_Bay > Source revision: 1294552828 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) thumb|320px|Village scenery east of Leipzig The '''Leipzig Bay'''Dickinson (1964), p. 29.[https://books.google.com/books?id=xAIZAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Palatinate+Forest%22&pg=PA120 ''Utrata Fachwörterbuch: Geographie - Englisch-Deutsch/Deutsch-Englisch''] by Jürgen Utrata (2014). Retrieved 10 Apr 2014.({{langx|de|Leipziger Tieflandsbucht}}) or '''Leipzig Basin''' {{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335462/Leipzig|title = Leipzig | History, Population, & Facts | Britannica}} or '''Saxon Lowland'''Dickinson (1964), p. 37. or '''Saxon Bay''' is a very flat, originally lakeless and highly fertile [plain](/source/plain) in [Central](/source/Central_Germany_(cultural_area)) [Germany](/source/Germany), in northwestern [Saxony](/source/Saxony) and southeastern [Saxony-Anhalt](/source/Saxony-Anhalt), anchored by the foothills of the [Harz mountains](/source/Harz_mountains) in the northwest and of the [Ore Mountains](/source/Ore_Mountains) in the southeast. This region was originally covered with dense forests and meandering rivers. In the course of urbanization and [lignite](/source/lignite) open pit [mining](/source/mining), large areas were deforested and many rivers and streams canalised or diverted. The Leipzig Bay is bounded to the north by the [Düben Heath](/source/D%C3%BCben_Heath), to the east by the [River Elbe](/source/River_Elbe), to the south by the [Ore Mountain Foreland](/source/Ore_Mountain_Foreland) and the [Central Saxon Hills](/source/Central_Saxon_Hills), and by the [River Saale](/source/River_Saale) to the west. The conurbation formed by the two cities of [Leipzig](/source/Leipzig) and [Halle](/source/Halle%2C_Saxony-Anhalt) lies in the centre of the Leipzig Bay. Other important towns are [Delitzsch](/source/Delitzsch), [Eilenburg](/source/Eilenburg), [Merseburg](/source/Merseburg) and [Borna](/source/Borna%2C_Leipzig). == Geology == The Leipzig Bay is a [Young Drift](/source/Young_Drift) landscape and the southernmost part of the [North German Plain](/source/North_German_Plain). The landscape is essentially a [plain](/source/plain) broken only by low eminences such as the [Hohburg Hills](/source/Hohburg_Hills) and dissected by the valleys of the [Saale](/source/Saale), [White Elster](/source/White_Elster), [Mulde](/source/Mulde), and [Pleiße](/source/Plei%C3%9Fe) rivers. The Leipzig Bay was formed during the [Tertiary](/source/Tertiary_period) period. When the [Ore Mountains](/source/Ore_Mountains) and [Vogtland](/source/Vogtland) were uplifted, a [basin](/source/structural_basin) was formed as a compensating movement, into which [weathering](/source/weathering) material from the mountain ranges was deposited. As a result of the creation of [bog](/source/bog)s and variable [flooding](/source/flooding), organic material was also deposited in this basin, which in turn was overlaid by [sediments](/source/sedimentation). [Brown coal](/source/Brown_coal) or [lignite](/source/lignite) was formed from these deposits, which is covered by layers of [sand](/source/sand) and [loess](/source/loess).[http://www.bgr.bund.de/nn_330788/DE/Themen/GG__geol__Info/Deutschland/GUEK200/Texte/Leipzig.html ''Geologische Übersichtskarte 1 : 200,000, Sheet CC 4734 Leipzig''. Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20110718204732/http://www.bgr.bund.de/nn_330788/DE/Themen/GG__geol__Info/Deutschland/GUEK200/Texte/Leipzig.html |date=2011-07-18 }} == Location == The landscape is very well served by communications. A cardioid ring motorway runs around the Leipzig-Halle conurbation, the so-called Central German Loop (''Mitteldeutsche Schleife''). [Leipzig/Halle Airport](/source/Leipzig%2FHalle_Airport) is an important transport hub in the eastern German states. Railway lines and ''[Bundesstraße](/source/Bundesstra%C3%9Fe)n'' (federal roads) run in all directions of the compass, linking the Leipzig Bay with other parts of the country. Only [inland shipping](/source/inland_shipping) has no direct access to this region, although work on the unfinished [Elster-Saale Canal](/source/Elster-Saale_Canal) began in the mid 20th century. == Importance == The Leipzig region is historically, culturally and economically of huge importance to [Central Germany](/source/Central_Germany_(geography)). Although open-cast mining continues in the area, it is also being developed from an environmental and tourist perspective, through the [reclamation](/source/Mine_reclamation) of old [lignite](/source/lignite) pits and mining facilities and their conversion into recreation areas, especially north and south of Leipzig. By flooding some the open-cast mines many [new lakes](/source/Neuseenland) have been and are being created in the Leipzig Basin, which are gradually changing the face of the landscape. == See also == * [List of landscapes in Saxony](/source/List_of_landscapes_in_Saxony) * [Leipzig River Network](/source/Leipzig_River_Network) == References == == Literature == * Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen. {{ASIN|B000IOFSEQ}}. * Donath, Matthias (2010). ''Leipziger Land. Kulturlandschaften Sachsens Bd. 2'', [Edition Leipzig](/source/Edition_Leipzig), Leipzig. {{coord|51.0000|N|13.0000|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:DE|display=title}} Category:Geography of Leipzig Category:Geography of Saxony-Anhalt Category:Natural regions of Saxony --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leipzig Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_Bay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_Bay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.