Emminkhuizerberg

The Emminkhuizerberg is the highest isolated moraine in the Gelderse Vallei. The top of the hill at 21.1 meters above sea level rises about 15 meters above the surrounding deck sand area. The Emminkhuizerberg was formed in the penultimate ice age, the Saalien, and consists of Rhine and Meuse deposits. The Utrechtse Heuvelrug was also formed during that ice age, but earlier than the Emminkhuizerberg. After the formation of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, a low remained between Baarn, Soest, Bilthoven, Hilversum and the Gelderse Vallei. Later in the Saalien, a few more bumps were pushed up by the ice: the Eng van Soest, an elevation at Baarn (Roosterbos), 't Hooge Erf and the Emminkhuizerberg. In the middle of the mountain is an east-west facing valley from the last ice age, the Weichselien, this is a snowmelt water valley.

Although the Emminkhuizerberg is no longer completely intact, the isolated hill is a valuable geomorphological object from a scientific and educational point of view. From the hill you also have a unique overview of the Gelderse Vallei.
In several places the Emminkhuizerberg is influenced by man. The hill is bisected by a railway line and a motorway. Excavations have taken place on the north and east sides. The ground level of the hill has been lowered for sand extraction for the motorway.

The Gelderse Vallei was a predominantly swampy area in previous centuries, which is why the emminkhuizerberg was an attractive area for agriculture. A thick black top layer in the soil shows that the Emminkhuizerberg has been used as a field area for many centuries. The relatively high isolated moraines have also been an attractive location for habitation. Soest, Baarn and Veenendaal were originally built on or on the flanks of such moraines.

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