Pfälzer Wald

mountains in the western Federal Republic of Germany, on the left bank of the Rhine, between the Vosges Mountains in the south and the Rhenish Slate Mountains in the north. The Pfälzer Wald is about 100 km long, with elevations to 687 m (Donnersberg). The eastern and highest section of the Pfälzer Wald (the Hardt Mountains) descends steeply to the Upper Rhine Lowland. The mountains are composed chiefly of variegated sandstones, which are eroded into fantastic shapes. They consist of several plateaus, which descend in steps to the west and are deeply dissected by tributaries of the Rhine. The mountains are covered with broadleaved and pine forests and, in some places, with heaths. The Pfälzer Wald includes a nature park of the same name.