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Insights into the history of the Earth? No problem in the area of Rennerod. The "Butterweck" near Rennerod doesn't exactly sound like a geological research project – but it is nonetheless a unique geotope in the Westerwald Geopark. As the knowledgeable Westerwald hiker already knows, the upper Westerwald is a basalt high plateau and the basalt rock is ubiquitous. It's no coincidence that the Hoch-Westerwälder have earned the nickname "Basalt Heads." While columnar basalt has been quarried in many Westerwald quarries, the spherical basalts from the "Butterweck" are an absolute rarity. The name "Butterweck" is derived from the shape of the stones, which reminded the locals of this type of pastry.
Geologically, dear visitors, you are looking back at the Tertiary period, an era that began about 67 million years ago and lasted until 1.5 million years before the present. In a sub-division of the Tertiary, the so-called Miocene (25 to 10 million years before the present), the roof and floor basalt deposits formed, as well as the lignite deposits of the Upper Westerwald. Spherical basalt is a rare weathering form of basalt and formed at the marginal zones of lava fields. What you see here is therefore of volcanic origin. The rocks from the "Butterweck" are extensions of a solidified lava flow.
In 1978, the "Butterweck" was designated as the geographic center of the Federal Republic of Germany, thus making Rennerod widely known. It remained so until the reunification of Germany in 1990.
Insights into Earth history? No problem in the Rennerod area. The "Butterweck" near Rennerod may not sound like a geological research project – but it is still a unique geotope in the Westerwald Geopark.
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56477 Rennerod
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http://www.hoherwesterwald.info
