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Eifel

The Eifel is a hilly region in Germany. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia and northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Eifel is bordered by the Moselle river in the south and the Rhine in the east. In the north it is continued by the hills of the High Venn (Hohes Venn), in the west by the Ardennes. (Ardennes and Eifel are actually the same geological region.)

In the Tertiary the Eifel was a site of extensive volcanic activity. Some of the hills are volcanoes, which became extinct long ago. The lakes of the regions are former volcanic craters (maars).

There are several distinct hill chains within the Eifel.

Since 2004 about 110 km² of the Eifel are protected as the Eifel National Park.

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