Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium (Belgique in French, België in Flemish) is situated in the far western region of mainland Europe, and has a total area of about 34,000 square kilometres.  It is bordered to the west by the North Sea, to the north by the Netherlands, to the east by Germany and Luxembourg, and to the south by France.  For further details, see the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium.

Belgium consists of two main linguistic regions.  To the north-west lies the Flemish-speaking region of Flanders, while to the south-east lies the French-speaking region of Wallonia.  In addition, Brussels, the capital, is a mostly French-speaking area within Flanders.  The regions of the country have considerable autonomy.

The country consists of three main geographical areas.  To the north-west is a low-lying coastal plain, consisting of sand dunes and polders, with an area of sandy heathland to the north-east of this coastal plain called the Kempen.  To the south-east of this coastal area is a region of undulating land, gently rising to the east.  It is criss-crossed by rivers and canals and has a few ranges of low hills – principally the so-called Flemish Ardennes.  To the south-east, in Wallonia, lies the uplands area of the Ardennes, which continues over the German, Luxembourgois and French frontiers.  This is a high plateau, cut deeply through by rivers, where the hills average between 300 metres to 500 metres in height.  The highest part of the Ardennes, within Belgium, is an area of moorland known as the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes in French).  This upland area continues over the German frontier, where it is called the Eifel.  In the Eifel is the highest summit in these uplands - the Hohe Acht 747 metres, with a prominence of c.525 metres.  Most of this plateau is composed of sedimentary rocks, but with some volcanic intrusions.   

The highest point in Belgium is the Signal de Botrange, in Wallonia, in the Hautes Fagnes area of the Ardennes.  This has a height of 694 metres, and a prominence of c.119 metres.  

The highest point in Flanders is Reesberg, which has a height of 287.5 metres, but a prominence of only c.12 metres.  It is near the village of Remersdaal in Eastern Belgium, close to the German frontier, in the Flemish enclave of Voerstreek, at 50:42:45N, 05:52:40E.   

The most prominent hill in all Belgium is Baraque Fraiture  (height 652 metres, and prominence 152 metres), south-west of the Signal de Botrange in the Belgian province of Luxembourg.

There are twelve hills in the country that have at least 100 metres of prominence.  

A list of the hills of at least 100 metres of prominence is downloadable below.

Hills lists below:

• Hills of Belgium to 100m of drop/prominence - see attached list below. 

• ‘The High Hills of Belgium’ – downloadable leaflet of all the hills of at least 500m height and 50m of drop/prominence – see attachment below.

• Hills of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg to 100m of drop/prominence (v.2) – downloadable leaflet – see attachment below.