Gäu Plateaus

Not surprisingly, the individual geographical units of this large region show considerable variations in climate and soil types.

The underlying rock is made up of the layer of Muschelkalk, which is largely covered by Lettenkeuper or loess.

In the Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands ("Handbook of the natural regional divisions of Germany") which appeared from 1953 to 1962 the Neckar and Tauber Gäuplateaus are part of the German Central Uplands and contain the following subdivisions (the handbook's regional numbers are shown in brackets):[2] Based on the system of the Division of Germany into Major Natural Regional Units" (Gliederung Deutschlands in Naturräumliche Haupteinheiten) by the Federal Conservation Office (BfN) in 1994 the natural region is known as D57 Gäuplateaus, Neckar and Tauber Land (D57 Gäuplatten, Neckar- und Tauberland) but covers the same area.

The term Gau (in Alemannic German: Gäu) was originally used to refer to open, treeless water meadows.

The name Neckar and Tauber Gäu Plateaus is to be seen as a collective reference for the Gäu landscapes located in the catchment area of the river Neckar and its tributaries and which extend northeast to the catchment area of the Tauber.