The mousetrap on the Wüstegarten

The rock formation at an angle of about 50° on the main ridge of the Wüstegarten looks like a trap. The geotope owes its unusual shape to thick-banked ridge quartzite. Along bench joints and fissures, parts of the slabs have broken off, so that the slab -like a stretched mousetrap- modeled itself out.

Along the ridge, the rock also known as Kellerwald quartzite, which is particularly resistant to weathering, regularly comes to the surface. This Kellerwald quartzite, typical of the Kellerwald, is part of a long but narrow rock train that extends from the Westerwald, through the Kellerwald, into the Harz Mountains and beyond. The rock finds its origin in the Lower Carboniferous (358.9 - 298.9 million years ago) in a former basin area, in which once ablation material collected. In subsequent times, these sediments were fossilized, metamorphically overprinted by pressure and heat, and tectonically uplifted.

A visit to the Desert Garden is worthwhile not only because of the geological features. Immediately at the summit, remains of a former fortification can be discovered, which prove a historical use of the plateau. Once at the summit, the Kellerwald tower is located at an altitude of 675m, from which one can enjoy an impressive distant view of the Hesse region.

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