The
Eifel is a hilly region in
Germany. It occupies parts of southwestern
North Rhine-Westphalia and northwestern
Rhineland-Palatinate.
The Eifel is bordered by the Moselle river in the south and the Rhine in the east. In the north it is continued by the hills of the High Venn[?] (Hohes Venn), in the west by the Ardennes. (Ardennes and Eifel are actually the same geological region.)
In the Tertiary the Eifel was a site of extensive volcanic activity. Some of the hills are volcanoes, which became extinct long ago. The lakes of the regions are former volcanic craters (maars[?]).
There are several distinct hill chains within the Eifel.
- The northernmost parts are called Ahrgebirge and rise north of the Ahr[?] River in the district of Ahrweiler.
- South of that river there is the Hohe Eifel ("High Eifel"), with the Hohe Acht (747 m) being the highest mountain of the Eifel.
- In the west, on the Belgian border, the hills are known as Schneifel (originally Schnee-Eifel, = "Snowy Eifel"), rising up to 698 m.
- The southern half of the Eifel is less high. They are cut by several rivers running north-south towards the Moselle. The largest of these rivers is the Kyll[?], and the hills on either side of this river are called the Kyllwald.
- In the south the Eifel is concluded by the Voreifel above the Moselle.