Het Ballooërveld

On the Ballooërveld, a heath in the Dutch province of Drente, several characteristic geomorphological and geological processes were active during the last ice-age (Weichselian) and the following period (Holocene) to this day. These processes left their imprints on the landscape, which can be classified in chronological order : 1)Periglacial phenomena such as pingo scars and asymmetric slopes, dating from the Middle Weichselian (Pleniglacial); 2) Aeolian phenomena like bowl-shaped, orientated depressions, dating from the Late Weichselian (Late Glacial); 3) Peat growth in the lower parts of the landscape, dating predominantly from the Atlantic period, and 4) phenomena which relate to the influence man has had on the landscape, especially since the Subatlantic period. A remarkable evidence of this influence is the presence of numerous carttracks, which turned the land into a fine relief