Nauen Plateau

It rises above the surrounding countryside by an average of 15 metres (49 ft) and is a largely contiguous upland area that was formed during the Saale and Weichselian glaciations.

Between Pritzerbe, part of the town of Havelsee, and Paulinenaue, the western boundary of the Nauen Plateau runs west of the Garlitz and Ribbeck Heaths and east of the bird reserve established for the great bustard.

Like the cities of Berlin and Potsdam, the eponymous town of Nauen lies on the perimeter of the plateau; on its northern rim.

The former military training area of Döberitz Heath has now become a nature reserve and is home to a rare type of vegetation, dry, sandy, grassland flora.

The Windmühlenberg Nature Reserve on the eastern slopes of the plateau above the River Havel in Gatow, a quarter of Berlin's Spandau borough, also supports dry, sandy, grassland flora.

On the other hand, parabraunerde soils, with their higher humus and clay content, such as those in the Gatower Feldflur Nature Reserve, offer the best conditions for agriculture.