Pingoruines Southern Westerkwartier

This file contains the pingo ruins located in the Southern Westerkwartier, province of Groningen. Characteristic of the Southern Westerkwartier are among other things the pingo ruins. Pingo ruins are geologically valuable areas and are created by a natural process during the last ice age, the Weichselien. Saltwater could then come to the surface locally due to the permanently frozen surface (permafrost) and froze there. As freezing water spread out, ice mounds were created, where the subsurface was pushed up. During the melting, the pressed ground slipped to the edges. After melting, deep, round holes filled with water remained behind with a ring wall. The pingo ruins Bolmeer and Ronde lake south of the Jonkersvaart are beautiful examples of this. The province of Groningen wants to prevent the pingo ruins from losing their value due to, among other things, new cultivation and plantations, deep plowing, levelling and shifting from land. The Provincial Environment Regulation 2016 states that municipalities must retain the pingo ruins through their zoning plans. This dataset is partly included in the Provincial Environment Vision 2016-2020. Furthermore, the Provincial Regulation 2016 lays down rules for the protection of these pingoruines.