is the Große Maate northwest of town. In this lowland area by the Vechte are many pools replenished over and over again by flooding. Many butterfly and other insect species are found here, and also the rare kingfisher. The Holmer Maate is another of Schüttorf's floodplain landscapes, where lapwings and great crested grebes may be spotted. Near the centre is the Vechteniederung Recreation Area, which is a floodplain and contains stormwater basins. Neighbouring communities The town of Schüttorf mainly borders on other members of the Joint Community, namely Samern in the southeast, Quendorf in the northwest and Engden in the north. Within the district of Grafschaft Bentheim, Schüttorf borders on the town of Bad Bentheim in the west. In the east, the town limit is also part of the boundary with the neighbouring district of Emsland, bordering there on Ahlde, an outlying centre of the community of Emsbüren. There is found – only 2 km from Schüttorf – a noteworthy, small conservation area with a heath pond. Environmental classification Environmental areas, or units, within the municipal area can be broken down thus according to mainly geomorphological and geological criteria, and soil science (see 1): D30 Dümm Geest Lowland and Ems-Hunte-Geest Nordhorn-Bentheim Sand Area – with subunits: Nordhorn-Engden Moor- and Sand Landscape (Middle) Vechte Lowland/Nordhorn Lowland D34 Münsterland (Westphalian) Depression Westmünsterland – with subunit: Bentheim Forest The town of Schüttorf lies mainly on valley sand plates which are crossed by the Vechte Lowland, which is almost flush with them along this stretch. The lowland lies roughly 30 m above sea level and is from 200 to 500 m wide. Bordering its edges are river terraces with a height of roughly 35 m above sea level. Owing to the slight difference in elevation even within the river valley, the middle Vechte meandered in the past, leading to the formation of many backwaters. Since then, however, the river has been straightened and is kept at Schüttorf level. Geology and local soil science conditions The Vechte Lowland is part of the Nordhorn glacial terminal basin, which was filled during the Saalian Stage by a glacier. This same glacier also pushed up the terminal moraine that is now the Uelsen Hills and the Lingen Heights in today's Grafschaft Bentheim and Emsland. In the south, the glacier found its abutment at the Mesozoic Bentheim Cretaceous Sandstone Mountain Chain. During the last ice age, the terminal basin