Lopau

The Lopau is a river in the Lüneburg Heath. It is a right tributary of the River Luhe.

Course

The Lopau springs with two source arms from the Southshore ponds and located in Westerville Westerville reason ponds on the military training ground Munster -Nord, near the uninhabited village Lopau, which belongs to the City of Munster. In its upper reaches the Lopau flows through a comparatively strong in relief valley that is cut to 30 meters in the forest area Raubkammer. In the former grassland of the valley floor is now spreading alder nursery. In Bockum, in the municipality of Rehlinger in the district of Lüneburg, she takes to the flowing from the left, at least equal Ehlbeck. East of Amelinghausen the river is dammed by a dam on the main road used by tourists 209 for Lopausee. North of Amelinghausen opens the Lopau near the Oldendorfer Totenstatt at Oldendorf (Luhe ) on the right side in the Luhe. From the source to the mouth of the river length of 13.8 km. Over the longer Ehlbeck results in a longest flow path of 17.3 kilometers.

Geology and water quality

The catchment area of ​​Lopau comprises 99 square kilometers. It rises in a Saalian glacial Abschmelzrinne in the end moraines and Sandern the Hohenheide, the central ridge of the Lüneburg Heath. The headwaters of the Lopau is within the military training area north Munster. In order not to endanger the waters, may heavy military vehicles, especially tanks, use in this area only concrete tanks streets. Once built on the upper reaches of the Lopau for marsh management in the 19th century weirs are largely forfeited the Lopau is considered largely to nature, their water quality has consistently Class II ( moderately polluted ). In this mostly shaded by dense woody shore section Lopau again has characteristics of anthropogenic hardly affected water body. The water quality is significantly affected by the impoundment on Lopausee whose high spout prevents the upward movement of fish and other aquatic animals exclusively. To protect the water body, with the exception of Lopausees, Use of motor vehicles prohibited with pleasure boats. The water quality is monitored by the state of Lower Saxony at the measuring point Bockum.

Flora and Fauna

In the valley bottoms in the headwaters and the upper reaches of Lopau there is a varied landscape with broken bogs, mixed forests, wild meadows and numerous, partly silted fishponds. The river also serves as a habitat for rare fish species such as brook lamprey and bullhead. In the upper Lopautal and the neighboring woods brooding black stork, kingfisher and boreal owl.

Water

In the 19th century Lopau was dammed to irrigate the adjacent meadows by weirs. After the marsh management was largely abandoned and some of the time -scale meadow drains are blocked, spreads on the upper reaches again an alder. At the former cultivation of the large heath and moorland on the upper reaches of the river by the Magdeburg industrialist Richard Toepffer the ruins of pottery tower recalls ( Today's notation differs from the name! ) Onto a 15- meter-high right-sided escarpment in the district Lopau.

Swell

• River system Ilmenau
• River in Europe
• River in Lower Saxony
• Lüneburg Heath
• Waters in the district Heidekreis
• Waters in the district of Lüneburg