Editing Palatinate (region) (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Weinberge bei Pleisweiler.JPG|thumb|Vineyards near the [[German Wine Route]]]]
[[File:Weinberge bei Leinsweiler.JPG|thumb|A typical vineyard landscape in the [[Palatinate Forest]]]]
[[File:Ilbesheim - Medieval frame houses.jpg|thumb|Medieval frame houses in [[Ilbesheim bei Landau in der Pfalz|Ilbesheim]], a village in [[South Palatinate]]]]
The Palatinate borders [[Saarland]] in the west, historically also comprising the state's [[Saarpfalz-Kreis|Saarpfalz]] District. In the northwest, the [[Hunsrück]] mountain range forms the border with the [[Rhineland]] region. The eastern border with [[Hesse]] and the [[Baden-Württemberg|Baden]] region runs along the [[Upper Rhine]] river, while the left bank, with [[Mainz]] and [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] as well as the [[Selz]] basin around [[Alzey]], belong to the [[Rhenish Hesse]] region. In the south, the German-[[France|French]] border separates the Palatinate from [[Alsace]].

One-third of the region is covered by the [[Palatinate Forest]] (''Pfälzerwald''), including the [[Palatinate Forest Nature Park]] popular with hikers. With about {{convert|1771|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}, it is Germany's largest contiguous forested area, and is part of the Franco-German [[Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve]].

The western and northern part of the Palatinate is densely forested and mountainous. Its highest mountain is the [[Donnersberg]] with a height of {{convert|687|m|ft|abbr=on}}, situated in the [[North Palatine Uplands]] near [[Kirchheimbolanden]]. Most of the major Palatinate towns ([[Ludwigshafen]], [[Speyer]], [[Landau]], [[Frankenthal]], [[Neustadt an der Weinstraße|Neustadt]]) lie in the lower eastern part of the [[Upper Rhine Plain]] down to the River Rhine. Here the [[German Wine Route]] (''Deutsche Weinstraße'') passes through the 
[[Palatinate (wine region)|Palatinate wine region]]. It is one of the greatest wine-producing regions in Germany, and in the last two decades has become well known for its prize-winning white and reds of highest quality produced by a number of talented young winemakers.

Major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries [[Lauter (Rhine)|Lauter]], [[Queich]] and [[Speyerbach]], as well as [[Schwarzbach (Blies)|Schwarzbach]] and [[Glan (Nahe)|Glan]] in the west.

Historically the [[Electoral Palatinate]] and several other territories were part of the Palatinate, but today belong to other German territories.

===Subdivision===
The Palatinate is divided into four non-administrative sub-regions, comprising the following rural [[Districts of Germany|districts]] and independent towns and cities:
*'''[[North Palatinate]]''' (''Nordpfalz''), i.e. the sparsely inhabited [[North Palatine Uplands]], made up of
**[[Donnersbergkreis]] (KIB), including the small towns of [[Eisenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate|Eisenberg]], [[Kirchheimbolanden]] and [[Rockenhausen]]
*'''[[Anterior Palatinate]]''' (''Vorderpfalz'') between Upper Rhine and the [[Haardt]] range of the Palatinate Forest
**[[Bad Dürkheim (district)|Bad Dürkheim]] (DÜW)
**[[Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis]] (RP)
**and the towns and cities of [[Frankenthal]] (FT), [[Ludwigshafen]] (LU), [[Neustadt an der Weinstraße]] (NW) and [[Speyer]] (SP)
*'''[[South Palatinate]]''' (''Südpfalz'').
**[[Germersheim (district)|Germersheim]] (GER)
**[[Südliche Weinstraße]] (SÜW)
** and the town of [[Landau]] (LD)
*'''[[West Palatinate]]''' (''Westpfalz'') up to the western part of the [[North Palatine Uplands]]
**[[Kaiserslautern (district)]] (KL)
**[[Kusel (district)|Kusel]] (KUS)
**[[Südwestpfalz]] (PS)
**and the towns of [[Kaiserslautern]] (KL), [[Pirmasens]] (PS) and [[Zweibrücken]] (ZW).

===Climate===
Like most of Southwestern Germany, the Palatinate’s climate is either [[humid subtropical]] in areas below 300 meters or [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] on higher ground. The average annual temperatures vary from around 11-14 degrees [[Celsius]] in the valleys and 8-10 degrees in the highlands. Wet air from the prevailing westerly and southwesterly winds leads to precipitation in the [[Mittelgebirge]] ranges, while it warms up on its way further down to the Rhine Valley; giving the valleys a considerably drier climate than the surrounding [[Palatine Forest]].