the town is crossed through the middle southeast to northwest by the river vechte, which farther downstream flows into the netherlands. the town's highest point rises to 48 m above sea level. schüttorf is in the foothills of the "bentheimer berg", a great sandstone formation from the cretaceous rising to 80 m and a wooded western outlier of the teutoburg forest. only a small piece of the bentheim forest is in the town. all together, about 89 ha of woodland is found within the town, making up 8% of the town's total land area.