Esperloop
The Esperloop branches off near Milheeze and, unlike the Snelle Loop, has not been canalized. As such, it is one of the rare examples of a mostly intact "heath brook". The small brook meanders through the Grotelse Forest and flows back into the Snelle Loop near the hamlet of Grotel, south of De Mortel.
The water of the Esperloop is very clean, however it does contain a lot of iron. That is because most of the water that feeds the brook comes from an area next to the Peel Edge Fault Line, a deep geological fault line where deep soil water wells up.
At the banks of the Esperloop, you will…
The Esperloop branches off near Milheeze and, unlike the Snelle Loop, has not been canalized. As such, it is one of the rare examples of a mostly intact "heath brook". The small brook meanders through the Grotelse Forest and flows back into the Snelle Loop near the hamlet of Grotel, south of De Mortel.
The water of the Esperloop is very clean, however it does contain a lot of iron. That is because most of the water that feeds the brook comes from an area next to the Peel Edge Fault Line, a deep geological fault line where deep soil water wells up.
At the banks of the Esperloop, you will find various brook valley plants, such as the marsh mariagold and the black sedge, plants that aren‘t found anywhere else in the Grotelse Forest (an old heathland) and are pretty rare in the surroundings. An explanation for this special situation might be the phosphate fixation caused by the high iron content. The rare golden-ringed dragonfly can also be found near the clean waters of the brook. The river also flows through some floristically interesting grasslands.
A herd of semi-wild cattle (Scottish Highlanders) grazes on the Grotelse Heathlands that can freely pass through the Esperloop.