The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: Oberrheinische Tiefebene or Oberrheingraben, French: Vallée du Rhin) is a major rift, about 350 km long and on average 50 km wide, between the cities of Frankfurt/Wiesbaden in the north and Basel in the south. Its southern section straddles the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe. The Upper Rhine Graben formed during the Oligocene as a response to the evolution of the Alps to the south and remains active to the present day. Today, the Rhine Rift Valley forms a downfaulted trough through which the River Rhine flows.
Read more about Upper Rhine Plain: Formation, Volcanic Activity, Seismic Activity, Upper Rhine Aquifer, Research, Temperature, External Links
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“Surely you wouldn’t grudge the poor old man
Some humble way to save his self-respect.
He added, if you really care to know,
He meant to clear the upper pasture, too.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Ah, there should be a young man, ein schone Junge carrying Blumen, a bouquet of roses. There should be cold Rhine wine and Strauss waltzes, and on the long way home kisses in the shadow of an archway, like a Cinderella.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)
“I am glad thou canst speak no better English, for if thou couldst, thou wouldst find me such a plain king that thou wouldst think I had sold my farm to buy my crown.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)