Stoffelskuppe, Mountain summit in the Rhön, Thuringia, Germany
Stoffelskuppe is a 620.1 m high basalt-capped hill in the Salzunger Werrabergland, near Roßdorf in Thuringia. Its hard basalt layer protected the softer Buntsandstein beneath from erosion, leaving a cap of glass-rich feldspar basalt. A natural block scree of basalt covers the southern slope.
The Stoffelskuppe is a remnant of a former basalt cover: its hard basalt cap protected the softer Buntsandstein beneath from erosion, leaving a 620.1 m high Härtling. The basalt was identified as a glass-rich feldspar basalt, often called limburgite. The 22.68-hectare nature reserve on the summit and upper south slope was designated in 1961.
The name Stoffelskuppe is also written Stopfelskuppe, and the summit lies in the municipality of Roßdorf. The 175 km Hochrhöner long-distance trail crosses the eastern and southern slopes, and the 8.8 km Rhön-Rundweg Urnshausen 3 loops around the mountain past the Schönsee, Bernshausen and the Bernshäuser Kutte.
Trails reach the summit from Bernshausen, Roßdorf, Rosa and Urnshausen; the 175 km Hochrhöner long-distance path crosses the east and south slopes. The 8.8 km Rhön-Rundweg Urnshausen 3 loops around the mountain past the Schönsee, through Bernshausen and by the Bernshäuser Kutte. The summit area lies in the 22.68 ha Stoffelskuppe nature reserve designated in 1961.
The basalt boulder slope on the south flank is home to the woolly fringe-moss, identified by its long glass hairs and classed as very rare in Germany; pygmy shrews often climb over the blocks. The 22.68-hectare Stoffelskuppe nature reserve was designated in 1961.
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