The Amselgrund is the name given to the valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

 of the Grünbach stream in the heart of Saxon Switzerland

Saxon Switzerland

Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains....

 in Eastern Germany. It runs from Niederrathen upstream to Rathewalde. The wild and romantic valley takes hikers through the Rathen rock basin with its bizarre rock formations. Its touristic high points are the lake of Amselsee

Amselsee

The Amselsee is a small reservoir in the spa town of Rathen in Saxon Switzerland. It is located in the Free State of Saxony in Eastern Germany.- Reservoir :...

 and the Amsel Falls

Amsel Falls

The Amsel Falls are a waterfall in Saxon Switzerland in East Germany, roughly a kilometre north of the famous Bastei crags.As the Grünbach stream passes through a particularly narrow, gorge-like section of the Amselgrund valley it plunges over the largest step in the river bed - roughly 10 m...

, that trickles over the grotto called the Amselloch. The valley bottom that is densely wooded is surrounded by a backdrop of rocks. To the west tower the rocks of the Gansfelsen, to the south the Feldsteine and the Türkenkopf, and to the east rise the Honigsteine rocks with the striking Lokomotive

Lokomotive

The Lokomotive is a striking climbing rock north of Kurort Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in Germany. The rock, which resembles a steam locomotive in appearance, is also known as Große Ruine, is about 30 metres high and is divided into two parts: known as Lokomotive-Dom and Lokomotive-Esse...

. The middle of the valley bottom is dominated by the striking Talwächter.
Whilst the character of the valley profile in its upper reaches is rather ravine-like, between its entrance to the Schwedenlöcher and Niederrathen

Rathen

Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about 35 km southeast of Dresden on the Elbe River. Rathen has between 400 and 500 inhabitants....

 it is a steep valley. On the stream bed ripple marks

Ripple marks

In geology, ripple marks are sedimentary structures and indicate agitation by water or wind.- Defining ripple cross-laminae and asymmetric ripples :...

 may be seen. Above the Amsel Falls, large, fallen sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

boulders block the watercourse, so that the rather lower water quantities of the Grünbach have to find their way past them.