The Western Ore Mountains (German: Westerzgebirge) is a natural region that forms the westernmost part of the Ore Mountains in the German state of Saxony. It is also part of the major landscape unit known as the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It extends eastwards to include the valley of the Schwarzwasser, and, below its mouth, that of the Zwickauer Mulde, and incorporates the western parts of the former major units known as the Lower and Upper Western Ore Mountains (Unteres und Oberes Westerzgebirge), no. 423, as well as the Southern Slopes of the Ore Mountains (Südabdachung des Erzgebirges), no. 420.
In the current classification system of natural regions, the Western Ore Mountains only covers the western part of the region that bore the same name in the preceding system, whilst the eastern part of that region is now part of the Central Ore Mountains.[1]
The higher regions of the Western Ore Mountains are part of the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park.
- ^ Map of the natural regions in Saxony at www.umwelt.sachsen.de (pdf, 859 kB)