Kaltensteine Rock Formation

Beautiful section of the path on top of the Hoxberg with a little Celtic magic, witnesses of Christian customs, benches and a sensory bench with a view of the Schaumberg. Very easy to reach from Zollstock if you want to get close by car. The section belongs to the Kaltenstein path (premium hiking path).

Geology of the Hoxberg and the Kaltensteine

The area of the Hoxberg consists mainly of sedimentary rocks of the permocarbons. The sediments were deposited about 200-300 million years ago in a basin (Saar-Nahe basin), which was bordered by mountains in the north (Hunsrück) and south (Vosges). The climate was tropical and humid with temporary heavy rain. The climatic conditions favored strong plant growth, which was decisive for the later coal formation. In the course of time, the climate became increasingly drier due to the continental drift to the north, until desert-like conditions prevailed around 250 million years ago at the time of the red sandstone. Later, the loose sediments that had been deposited were sunk into the depths and solidified by increasingly thick overburden. The layers were displaced by forces within the earth's crust and offset against each other due to disturbances. This explains the current location of the Hoxberg on a high block between the Lebacher Graben in the northeast and the Saarwellinger Graben in the southwest. The ridge of the Hoxberg forms a conglomerate horizon with an average thickness of 8-10 m. This conglomerate horizon lies in the so-called Remigiusberg Formation, which stretches from the ridge of the Hoxberg over its north side to the valley of the Theel. The natural monument “Kaltenstein” is also embedded in this horizon. The sedimentation of the Remigius mountain formation in the west of the Saar-Nahe basin (west of the Lebach trench) consists mainly of red-violet and red-brown, fine to medium-grain sandstones. On the ridge of the Hoxberg, the conglomerate consists of quartzite, vein quartz, rhyolite, granite and lydite rubble. This red-violet, medium to coarse-grained conglomerate also has a certain amount of feldspar and occasionally consists of yellow-gray arkoses (sandstone rich in feldspar). Source: Text information board

- Quartzite: rock with 98% quartz content
- Vein quartz: white quartz with no adjoining rocks
- Rhyolite: volcanic rock, rich in quartz
- Granite: Igneous deep rock made of feldspar, quartz and mica
- Lydite: slate-like sedimentary rock

The hiking trail is rounded off by a number of stations of cultural and historical interest, such as the Kaltenstein natural monument, a Celtic sanctuary and a very beautiful panoramic view. My tour is about 8 km long.