settlements. Today one finds not only highly crafted moulded vases and mugs but also a range of handcrafted utility ware, with hand-painted swirling floral motifs. In the eastern Westerwald (the part lying in Hesse) are found interesting limestone deposits from the most varied of geological times. Erdbach limestone from the Lower Carboniferous gave one small time period the name "Erdbachian". Near Breitscheid are found the remnants of an atoll from the subtropical Devonian sea that was here 380,000,000 years ago. Parts of this limestone formation are worked in open-pit mining; near Enspel, a "fossil conservation area" has been instituted, in which institutes from several colleges conduct research and excursions. A few karst caves are of interest to spelaeology and bring about the temporary disappearance and reappearance of the Erdbach. Mountains The Westerwald's highest mountain is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald, meaning "fox hollow". Many peaks and crests exceed the 600-metre level. Sorted by elevation above sea level, these are some of the Westerwald's highest elevations: Fuchskaute (657 m), near Willingen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Stegskopf (654 m), near Emmerzhausen, Altenkirchen district, Rhineland-Palatinate Salzburger Kopf (653 m), near Salzburg, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Höllberg (643 m), near Driedorf, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Auf der Baar (618 m), near Driedorf/Breitscheid, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Barstein (614 m), near Breitscheid, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Knoten (605 m), near Driedorf, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Die Höh (598 m), near Burbach, Siegen-Wittgenstein, North Rhine-Westphalia Alarmstange (542.2 m), near Horresen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Köppel (540 m), near Montabaur, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Hohenseelbachskopf (530 m), near Daaden, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Altenkirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate Gräbersberg (513.1 m), near Alpenrod, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Mahlscheid (509 m), near Herdorf, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Altenkirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate Malberg (422 m), near Ötzingen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Hummelsberg (389 m), near Linz am Rhein, Neuwied district, Rhineland-Palatinate Beulskopf (388 m), near Altenkirchen, Altenkirchen district, Rhineland-Palatinate Waterways Flowing waters The following are the Westerwald's rivers and streams: Rivers whose valley systems border the range (clockwise): Rhine – southwest edge Sieg – north edge Dill – east edge, tributary to the Lahn Lahn – southeast edge Smaller rivers within the range: Mehrbach Sayn (also known as Saynbach) – in the southern (Lower) Westerwald, flows west to the Rhine Wied (between Sieg und Sayn) – flows west to the Rhine Nister (in the northeast, boundary of Upper Westerwald) – flows northwest to the Sieg Elbbach (Sieg) – near Wissen to the Sieg Heller – rises in northern Westerwald