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( Upper Swabia)
Upper Swabia (German Oberschwaben or Schwäbisches Oberland) is a region in Germany in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Alb and Lake Constance. Its counterpart is Lower Swabia (Unterland), the region around Heilbronn. Th region of Upper Swabia is situated in the south-east of Baden-Württemberg. The landscape of Upper Swabia was formed by retreating glaciers after the Riss glaciation, leaving behind a large number of shallows which quickly filled up with water. This led to the large quantity of lakes in Upper Swabia. The landscape of Upper Swabia is quite hilly rising from aprroximately 458 metres above sea level in the valley of the river Danube to a maximum of 833 metres above sea level in the south-west of Upper Swabia only to drop again to 395 meters above sea level at Lake Constance. The European watershed also passes through the region, with some rivers emptying into the river Danube (ultimately flowing into the Black Sea) and others emptying into Lake Constance (ultimately ending in the North Sea).
Due to Upper Swabia's altitude and hilly terrain, agriculture consists mainly of dairy farming, the exception being the basin of the river Schussen, where the predominant produce is hops and fruits. Upper Swabia is still a very rural area dominated by villages. The urban population is concentrated in the cities of Laupheim, Biberach an der Riß, Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen. The eastern border of Upper Swabia has been disputed for some time. Historically, the river Lech marks the border between Swabia and Bavaria. However, this would mean that large parts of Bavarian Swabia would have to be incorporated into Upper Swabia. As a result, these days the river Iller marks the eastern border of Upper Swabia.
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