Weißer Stein (Eifel)

The Weißer Stein (German for White Stone; in English also written as Weisser Stein) is located in the forest of Mürringen [de], a hamlet of the Büllingen municipality in East Belgium. It is the highest point of this village and the second-highest point of Belgium. It also lies on the border with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Weißer Stein
Boardwalk leading to the Weißer Stein rocks in Belgium
Highest point
Elevation	693.3 m (2,275 ft)
Coordinates	50°24′30″N 6°22′9″E
Geography
Weißer Stein Location of Weißer Stein in Belgium
Location	Büllingen, East Belgium
Parent range	Eifel

German measurements (until 1920 the area belonged to Germany) indicated an altitude of 689 m (NN, German standard) at the nearby located measuring point, and a small higher area surrounded by the 690-meter altitude line.^[1] In 2007 the University of Liège executed measurements and found a height of 692 m (TAW, Belgian standard). The altitude meter of Google Earth caused some doubt about Signal de Botrange (694 m TAW) as Belgium's highest point because its vertical reference EGM96 deviates a couple of meters from the German Normalnull and the Belgian TAW, thereby suggesting an altitude of 701 m for the Weißer Stein. An accurate control by the Belgian National Geographic Institute in 2010 showed the Weißer Stein to be at maximum 693.3 m TAW (=691 m NN), with which it differs by less than 1 m from Signal de Botrange.^[2][3]

References

1. Map sheet 481 Hillesheim (1909) Kgl. Preuß. Landesaufnahme online
2. n.c. (9 Mar 2010). "Botrange est bien le toit de la Belgique". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 24 Jan 2015.
3. "Weißer Stein ski area on Eifel Info".