- Schwarza River (Saale)
The Schwarza is a left
tributary of theSaale inThuringia ,Germany , and 53 km long. Its source is in theThuringian Forest , nearNeuhaus am Rennweg . It flows into the Saale inRudolstadt . Other towns on the Schwarza areSchwarzburg andBad Blankenburg .The Schwarza valley ("Schwarzatal") parallels the axis of the Schwarzburg
anticline ("Schwarzburger Sattel"), a structure that divides theThuringian forest to the northwest from the Thuringian slate hills ("Thüringische Schiefergebirges") to the southeast. [See figure 2.5 from Chapter 2 of [http://www.geo.uni-jena.de/Homepage-AngewGeophysik-englisch/start.html "Untersuchung kurzperiodischer Schwankungen des Grundwasserspiegels"] by Stefan Senitz, Department of Applied Geophysics, Institute of Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena] The Schwarzburg Anticline was created by the collision betweenLaurentia andGondwana around 350 million years ago. [See [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-3121.2005.00664.x "Saxo-Thuringia in the Variscan belt from a Geodynamic point of view"] by Max Sommer and Gerhard Katzung, "Terra Nova, 18", 1 (2006) 63-71.] The rock of the Schwarzburg Anticline is metamorphic, with a core ofordovician rock, largelyquartzite .The Schwarza valley has been known for its deposits of placer gold since the 12th century. In 1442, the rights to the gold deposits of the Schwarza valley were granted to the Counts of
Schwarzburg . [ [http://www.sitzendorf.com/gold.htm "Beginn der Goldsuche im Schwarzatal"] by Peter Stieler] Recreational placer miners continue to find occasional gold nuggets in the Schwarza to this day. [ [http://www.goldsuche-thueringen.de/ Goldwäscherei] by Rich. Christian Kreibich]In literature
In the epic alternate history series
1632 series , the Schwarza is the river nearest the environs of the time and space displaced fictional town of Grantville. A loop of the Schwarza is cut through at Schwarzburg and diverted into what had been Buffalo Creek, a tributary of theMonongahela River and is used for cooling water for itspower plant . The short story GG05|in="Schwarza Falls" describes in some detail the local geography, which due to terrain elevation differences, results in the castle and village of Schwarzburg looking down on the Grantville power plant and into the circle of land about Grantville.References
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