Rotbach (Dreisam)

The Rotbach is the 19.9-kilometre-long, left-hand and southeasterly headstream of the Dreisam in the Southern Black Forest in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg.ZartenbachThe headstreams of the upper reaches of the Rotbach, known as the Zartenbach, begin on the territory of Hinterzarten (Southern Black Forest Nature Park) southwest of the village of Oberzarten on the eastern mountainside of the Ramselehöhe (1,111,9 m) at about 1,085 metres above sea level. They gather on the bottom of a valley basin with a stepped longitudinal profile that was formed by an ice age glacier. On one of the levels the stream is impounded to form the pond of Mathisleweiher. Thereafter it flows in a broad left-hand arc around the Windeck and passes through Oberzarten and Hinterzarten northwards in the broad hollow of the level Hinterzarten Moor (nature reserve).LöffeltalbachAfter picking up the outflow of the western part of the moor, the stream deepens as it enters a V-shaped valley and descends steeply. The valley is named after the old workshops here that used to make wooden spoons (Holzlöffeln). Through this valley used to run the Löffeltalsteige, the ascent from the Höllental valley to the heights of Hinterzarten.HöllenbachIn the Höllental the Löffeltalbach merges with the Ravennabach coming from Ravenna Gorge to the northeast. The stream, now called the Höllenbach, flows northwest initially through the straight trough valley of the upper Höllental which was formed by ice age glaciers. It then comes to a gorge-like section of the valley which is known as the Hirschsprung or Höllenpass. The stream is accompanied by the B 31 and Höllentalbahn as it continues through the Höllental.