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South German Scarplands

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The South German Scarplands is a geological and geomorphological natural region or landscape in Switzerland and the south German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg . The landscape is characterised by escarpments .

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65-845: It is variously referred to in the German literature as the: The South German Scarplands run (from north(-northeast) to south(-southwest)) more or less between the southern Rhön , the Spessart , the Odenwald and the Black Forest in the west, the Franconian Jura in the east, the Swabian Jura to the southeast and the northeastern foothills of the Jura to the south. The wooded west and northwest-facing scarps drop sharply towards

130-510: A rich cultural landscape. Compared with other low mountain regions, the Rhön is particularly rich in plant varieties. Its natural vegetation would probably be dominated by beech woods with scattered groups of other trees, but today beech trees are very much in decline. A few of these ancient woods were identified as core elements of the Rhön biosphere reserve. The higher beech woods are a habitat for rare, sometimes isolated, species of plant such as

195-604: Is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata ) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsandstein predominantly consists of sandstone layers of the Lower Triassic series and is one of three characteristic Triassic units, together with the Muschelkalk and Keuper that form the Germanic Trias Supergroup . The Buntsandstein

260-697: Is basically a continuation of the same unit. In Germany the Buntsandstein is subdivided into three subgroups with seven formations (from top to base): Upper Buntsandstein Middle Buntsandstein Lower Buntsandstein All of these are reasonably good reservoir rocks for oil and gas. In the Dutch subdivision, the upper two formations are part of the Upper Germanic Trias and the others part of

325-575: Is in Hesse . The Rhön Mountains are a popular tourist destination and walking area. The name Rhön is often thought to derive from the Celtic word raino (=hilly), but numerous other interpretations are also possible. Records of the monks at Fulda Abbey from the Middle Ages describe the area around Fulda as well as more distant parts of the Rhön as Buchonia , the land of ancient beech woods. In

390-776: Is similar in age, facies and lithology with the Bunter of the British Isles . It is normally lying on top of the Permian Zechstein and below the Muschelkalk. In the past the name Buntsandstein was in Europe also used in a chronostratigraphic sense, as a subdivision of the Triassic system. Among reasons to abandon this use was the discovery that its base lies actually in the latest Permian. The Buntsandstein

455-548: Is the alpine shrew . Birds occurring here include the black grouse , the capercaillie , the black stork , the eagle owl , the corncrake , the red-backed shrike and the wryneck . There are also two species endemic to the Rhön: the rove beetle and a local snail, the Rhönquellschnecke ( Bythinella compressa ). The Dachmarke Rhön project (Rhön umbrella brand project) is run by the Rhön working group and its aim

520-611: Is the case to some extent with the Swabian and the Franconian Jura, which run north of the upper course of the Danube . Vineyards are concentrated in the lower regions of the scarplands, whilst forestry plays an important role in the higher mountain areas. Rh%C3%B6n The Rhön Mountains ( German: [ˈʁøːn] ) are a group of low mountains (or Mittelgebirge ) in central Germany , located around

585-458: Is to promote a common identity for the Rhön region and to present a unified view of the area to the outside world and to harmonise the marketing measures of the three participating federal states. These mountains are a popular tourist destination. Hikers come for the nearly 6,000 km (3,700 mi) of trails, and gliding enthusiasts have been drawn to the area since the early 20th century. More recently, farm holidays have been flourishing in

650-506: The Alpine blue-sow-thistle , giant bellflower and annual honesty . The vegetation of the lower-lying beech woods has a mix of mountain and other varieties. In addition to common wildflowers like the martagon lily , lily of the valley , wild chervil and wild garlic , various orchids also flourish here including Cephalanthera orchids, the yellow coralroot , bird's-nest orchid , lady's slipper and lady orchid . Only small areas of

715-810: The Brend valley near Bischofsheim forms the boundary with another mountain group of the High Rhön, the Kreuzberg Group, which contains the Arnsberg (843.1 m (2,766 ft)) and the Kreuzberg (927.8 m (3,044 ft)). In between these two mountains lies the source of the Sinn . This river, which forms a wide and deep valley head flanked by the Dammersfeld ridge, flows to the southwest. On

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780-590: The Changhsingian to Anisian stages , meaning it is between 252 and 246 million years old. In German lithostratigraphy, it is seen as a group, in the Netherlands and North Sea the name has no official status (though that does not keep geologists from using it). In the official Dutch lithostratigraphy, the Buntsandstein is divided into the Lower and Upper Germanic Trias Groups . The British Bunter Formation

845-590: The Dammersfeldkuppe (927.9 m (3,044 ft)), the ridge being clearly narrower than the Long Rhön and its basalt layer being interrupted several times. The Großer (808.6 m (2,653 ft)) and Kleiner Auersberg (about 808 m (2,651 ft)), separated by the valley of the Schmale Sinn , are also part of this natural region. South of Heidelstein and Hoher Hölle the narrow head of

910-626: The Gangolfsberg (735.8 m (2,414 ft)) and the Rother Kuppe (710.6 m (2,331 ft)). This landscape bears a clear resemblance to the Kuppen Rhön. The Wildflecken Training Area , which covers an area of 74 km (28.6 sq mi), equivalent to almost a quarter of the High Rhön, is not accessible to the public. The 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi) of the "Kuppen Rhön in its narrow sense", to which

975-819: The Handbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany into the following natural regions : The High Rhön ( German : Hohe Rhön or Hochrhön ) is that part of the central Rhön that lies in Hesse , Bavaria , and to a lesser extent in Thuringia ; it covers an area of 344 km (132.8 sq mi) Landscape fact files by the BfN (c.f. section on Natural region division ) and is up to 950.0 m (3,117 ft) and whose highland plateaux with elevations starting at 600 to 700 m (1,969 to 2,297 ft) are covered by solid basalt . Its core area in

1040-795: The Hessian Skittles , a striking regular array of high, gently rounded, basalt cones up to 552.9 m (1,814 ft). North and south of the skittles most of the kuppen in this natural region are also arranged in a row along the watershed between the Werra and the Fulda and between the Ulster and the Haune respectively. To the west they do not quite reach the Haune at the Haune Plateaux ; to

1105-691: The Hochrhön for the protection of its farmers. The Rhön was also home to the Christian Community known as the Bruderhof from 1926 to 1937 when it was dissolved by Nazi persecution . In 1991 UNESCO declared parts of the Rhön a Biosphere Reserve on account of its unique high-altitude ecosystem. As a result of its geography and geology the Rhön is an area with higher-than-average number of different habitats and species . But man, too, has generated valuable secondary habitats by creating

1170-683: The Neogene geological period, after the Upper Rhine Rift Valley was formed as a result of plate tectonic processes about 30 million years ago. The regions either side of the rift valley were violently uplifted, producing the Black Forest on the German side and the Vosges on the French side. This uplifting had the consequence that in the entire South German scarpland region the strata no longer lay horizontally, but were tilted away from

1235-622: The Rhine Rift Valley and the Rhine-Main Plain , whilst the dip slopes fall comparatively gradually towards the (north-)east into the depressions beyond which lie the Thuringian Forest , Thuringian Highland , Franconian Forest , Fichtel Mountains , Upper Palatine Forest and Bavarian Forest . Similarly the Swabian and Franconian Jura descend quite gently towards the south(east) to the Danube valley, whilst

1300-514: The Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic era. The sedimentary beds were gently tilted and exposed to the surface and erosion and weathering occurred differentially based on their composition. The less resistant rocks eroded faster, retreating until the point they were overlain by more resistant rock resulting in the cuestas characteristic of scarplands. The present scarp landscape

1365-780: The Upper Rhine Rift Valley in the area of maximum uplift and flexure, scarplands were formed to the east and west of the rift, their layers of rock all dipping away from the Upper Rhine. These regions are the known in the west as the North French Scarplands (in northern France and the Palatinate) and in the east as the South German Scarplands (in Baden-Württemberg and northern Bavaria). These two great areas of scarpland are linked in

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1430-465: The "Anterior Rhön", as viewed from Thuringia, forms the foothills (or anterior part) of the mountain region. In this gently rolling landscape numerous individual dome-shaped mountains rise on both sides of the border of Hesse and Thuringia and also, in some places, in Bavaria. These Kuppen are the remnants of ancient volcanos or volcanic activity. The Rhön and its immediate declivities are divided by

1495-576: The Anterior Rhön also belongs, is the wide outer fringe of markedly different relief, that circles around the High Rhön from the northeast (in Thuringia ) through the northwest (in Hesse ) to the southwest (with small parts in Bavaria ). Numerous dome-shaped isolated mountains and hills rise above the valleys to 500–800 metres (1,640–2,625 ft), whose basalt covering is concentrated around

1560-776: The Feuerberg, Kreuzberg ( monastery ), Oberweißenbrunn, through the Red and Black Moors , over the Ellenbogen and the Emberg via Oberalba, past Baier to Stadtlengsfeld and on to its destination at Bad Salzungen on the Werra River. Other hiking trails are: In addition the following pass through the Rhön: Bunter sandstone The Buntsandstein (German for coloured or colourful sandstone ) or Bunter sandstone

1625-738: The Fulda, is not reached in other parts of the region. To the southwest the area is bounded by the rocky sandstone of the Hoher Kammer (700.0 m (2,297 ft)), as it descends from the heights of the Dammersfeld ridge (up to 927.9 m (3,044 ft)). Separated from the Kammer by the upper reaches of the Döllbach , the Döllau , the Große Haube (658.1 m (2,159 ft)) on

1690-603: The Lower Germanic Trias. Bunter sandstone often forms spectacular rock formations as a result of weathering: including isolated rocks several tens of metres high. Most of them are designated natural monuments , for example, the Devil's Table near Hinterweidenthal . In the Palatinate, near Eppenbrunn , are the so-called Altschlossfelsen ("Old Castle Rocks"). The massif has a length of around 1.5 km and

1755-589: The Middle Ages beech was an important raw material. Large scale wood clearing resulted in the "land of open spaces" ( Land der offenen Fernen ), 30% of which, today, is forested. Lying within the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia, the Rhön is bounded by the Knüll to the northwest, the Thuringian Forest to the northeast, the Grabfeld to the southeast, Lower Franconia to the south, the Spessart forest to

1820-505: The Rhine rift descending from west to east. As a result of the lifting and tilting of these sedimentary layers, weathering set in, which the more resistant layers of rock withstood for longer than the softer layers. For example, the clays were relatively easily eroded and formed gentler gradients, whilst the harder sandstones or limestones were less susceptible to weathering and formed the steeper scarps. The resulting geological structures brought

1885-720: The Rhine-Weser watershed opens the Brückenau Kuppenrhön, whose western half is in Hesse and whose eastern half is in Bavaria. The valleys of the Schmaler and Breiter Sinn running southwestwards, divide the natural region, which is clearly more heterogenous than the other ranges of the Kuppen Rhön, into three segments. In the west, the rugged plateaux of dolerite and basalt transition into the Landrücken , whilst

1950-432: The Rhön Mountains or flow by or through them (length given in brackets) : The name Rhön is believed to be of Celtic origin. A regional Celtic presence is well established, with an important Celtic town at Milseburg . Furthermore, there are circular embankments that could be both of Celtic and of Germanic origin in the Kuppenrhön on the Stallberg and the Kleinberg mountains. Many names of places, mountains and meadows in

2015-444: The Rhön landscape are essentially open: the raised bogs ( Hochmoore ), the rock outcrops and the stone runs . These habitats are home to highly specialised species. The raised bogs of the Long Rhön - the Red Moor ( Rotes Moor ) and the Black Moor ( Schwarzes Moor ) are floristically important links between the northern and Alpine raised bogs. Here, for example, can be found sundews , crowberry and cottongrass . Growing amongst

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2080-407: The Rhön likely have their origins in Celtic root words. Up to the 10th century parts of the Rhön belonged to Altgau Buchonia . This term was coined by the Romans in Late Antiquity and described an ancient beech forest in the Rhön and the neighbouring low mountain ranges of the Spessart and Vogelsberg . Expansive stands of beech still exist today in the area. Due to the far reaching view from

2145-400: The Rhön mountains, they became sites for hilltop castles in the Middle Ages . One example is Hauneck Castle ( Burg Hauneck ) on the Stoppelsberg , the ruins of which can still be seen. It served to oversee and protect traffic on the ancient road, the Antsanvia , as well as protecting the villages in the Haune valley. In the Middle Ages the Würzburg Defences ( landwehr ) were erected on

2210-416: The Rhön's highest summit, the Wasserkuppe (950.0 m (3,117 ft)), whose basalt likewise covers a wide area, but is broken in places by bunter sandstone and muschelkalk – in particular the basalt kuppen of the Weiherberg (785.7 m (2,578 ft), northwest) and Ehrenberg (816.5 m (2,679 ft) northeast) are slightly separated from the rest. Between the northeastern end of

2275-405: The Swabian Jura, for example, drop very steeply to the north(-northwest) from the so-called Albtrauf - the top of the main scarp. The South German Scarplands are part of a scarp landscape that stretches from the Bohemian Forest to the Paris Basin . This anticlinal terrain is a result of the tectonic bulging of the earth's surface between Paris and the Bohemian Forest. Following the sinking of

2340-491: The Wasserkuppen Rhön at the Ehrenberg and the plateau of the Long Rhön from the Heidelstein to just beyond the Stirnberg is the Upper Ulster valley , which cuts into the bunter sandstone by up to about 300 m (984 ft) and divides the Plattenrhön in two. The Long Rhön runs southwest along the main watershed to the Dammersfeld ridge which continues along the watershed via the Hohe Hölle (893.8 m (2,932 ft)) and Eierhauckberg (909.9 m (2,985 ft)) to

2405-451: The aforementioned ridges is the eastern slope of the Long Rhön , which forms the transition zone from the High Rhön to the muschelkalk region of the Mellrichstadt Gäu ( Mellrichstädter Gäu ), the eastern part of the Werra Gäu Plateaux . Individual domes rise from the descending Triassic beds east of the solid basalt covering of the Long Rhön in the interfluvials of the tributaries of the Franconian Saale between Brend and Streu , notably

2470-402: The basalt and phonolite cones sit directly on the sandstones of the Middle Bunter. Cutting deeply into the sandstone, the rivers of the Haune and the Fulda flow westwards. The phonolitic cone of the Milseburg (835.2 m (2,740 ft)) is the only mountain in the Kuppen Rhön that exceeds the 800-metre-mark. Even the height of the Großer Nallenberg (768.3 m (2,521 ft)) south of

2535-429: The border area where the states of Hesse , Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end of the East Hesse Highlands ( Osthessisches Bergland ), are partly a result of ancient volcanic activity. They are separated from the Vogelsberg Mountains by the river Fulda and its valley. The highest mountain in the Rhön is the Wasserkuppe (950.2 metres or 3,117 feet), which

2600-446: The centuries also has a great variety of habitats and plants however, today, the extensive grassland areas are amongst the most threatened and heavily cultivated habitats. It is on the semi-arid grasslands and juniper heaths that the silver thistle , symbol of the Rhön region, grows, alongside gentians , pasque flowers and wood anemones , as well as orchids like the early purple , fragrant and fly orchids . Rarer flowers include

2665-417: The continued existence of large forested areas, because of the low productivity of its soils. Muschelkalk underlies the fertile Gäu landscapes of the Baar as far as Lower Franconia . The Keuper, with its relatively poor soils again, lends its name to the scarplands of the Keuper-Lias Uplands . The most prominent Jurassic scarps - notably the Swabian and Franconian Jura – are formed by the White Jura and, in

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2730-486: The end of the Permian a connection with the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to the south was formed in present-day southeast Poland, causing sea water to flow in periodically. This caused the inflow of more clastic material, which was deposited in the form of large alluvial fans . The same process happened in the Triassic for the Basque-Cantabrian Basin , in the axis of the future Pyrenees . Deposition took place in an arid, continental environment ( playa facies), so that there

2795-416: The higher slopes. Characteristic plants here include the monkshood , northern wolfsbane , common moonwort , martagon lily , greater butterfly orchid , perennial cornflower and wig knapweed . Bog-bean , grass of Parnassus ' western marsh orchid and lousewort are found in the wet meadows and low marshes; and the extremely rare large brown clover , hairy stonecrop and Pyrenean scurvygrass in

2860-403: The last two rocks only surviving where they have been protected by an overlying sheet of basalt . Woods cover less than a third of the area and are largely restricted to the summit regions. Five natural regions may be distinguished: The eastern part of the Kuppen Rhön is the Thuringian Anterior Rhön , which reaches a height of 750.7 m (2,463 ft) at the huge plateau of the Gebaberg in

2925-430: The main high point on the plateau of the Long Rhön, which runs northeast over the Stirnberg (901.9 m (2,959 ft)) as far as the Ellenbogen (Schnitzersberg) (815.5 m (2,676 ft)) without crossing any significant lower ground. Within the Long Rhön the basalt layer is almost unbroken. At the Heidelstein, another natural region, the Wasserkuppen Rhön , branches off in a north to northwesterly direction to

2990-448: The northeast of the Kleiner Auersberg (c. 808 m (2,651 ft)) leads up to the Dammersfeld ridge. Between the more rugged plateaux and ridges there are gently domed basalt intrusions that rise up, especially in the southeast, left of the Sinn near Bad Brückenau . The Dreistelzberg in the extreme south reaches 660.4 m (2,167 ft). The most well-known peaks in the Rhön Mountains include: The following rivers rise in

3055-417: The northeast used to be called the Plattenrhön . The High Rhön is a natural regional major unit in the East Hesse Highlands; see Natural regions . The High Rhön has five main mountainous regions: At the heart of the Rhön, albeit only the fourth highest summit of these mountains, is the Heidelstein (925.7 m (3,037 ft)) on the border between Bavaria and Hesse on the Rhine-Weser watershed. It forms

3120-399: The other side of the Sinn valley, and southwest of the Kreuzberg Group, are the Black Mountains ( German : Schwarze Berge ), which include the Schwarzenberg (Feuerberg, 832.0 m (2,730 ft)) and Totnansberg (839.4 m (2,754 ft)). They are separated from the Kreuzberg Group by the narrow valley of the Premich 's upper reaches, the Kellersbach . Clearly different from

3185-415: The region, the prominent kuppe of the Baier reaches a height of 713.9 m (2,342 ft), but its northernmost summit is the popular viewing mountain of Oechsen . The western boundary is the Middle Ulster Valley between Hilders in the south and below Buttlar in the north. West of the Ulster valley is the Soisberg Kuppenrhön ( Soisberger Kuppenrhön ), which lies mainly in Hesse, with elements in

3250-428: The region. Towns and larger villages close to the Rhön are: There are well-marked walks and hiking trails in the Rhön which are looked after by the Rhön Club . The Rhön-Höhen-Weg ("Rhön Heights Walk" or RHW) is marked with a horizontal, red teardrop. It is 137 km (85 mi) long and runs from Burgsinn in Main-Spessart district through Roßbach, Dreistelz, Würzburger Haus on the Farnsberg, Kissinger Hütte on

3315-415: The rocks of the volcanic mountains are rare species such as Cheddar pink , sweet william catchfly , oblong woodsia and fir clubmoss . There are no naturally occurring coniferous forests in the Rhön, but notable species of wild flower such as the lady's slipper orchid , creeping lady's tresses and burning-bush are found in the forests of mixed pine. The cultural landscape formed by humankind over

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3380-409: The south and below Dermbach in the north. West of the Felda valley is the Auersberg Kuppenrhön ( Auersberger Kuppenrhön ), which lies mainly in Thuringia, but extends into Hesse in the southwest. This natural region runs from the town of Auersberg in the south, which gives the region its name, to the boundary with the Long Rhön at the Ellenbogen , 756.8 m (2,483 ft). In the northeast of

3445-405: The south by the scarps of the Tafeljura on the High Rhine , as well as those in the region of Basel , the Ajoie and in the rest of the Belfort Gap . In the area of the Faltenjura, around the southern perimeter of the Upper Rhine Rift in the Sundgau (Pfirter Jura), the two scarplands (unfolded layers) are separated from one another by a short distance. The rock layers involved were formed in

3510-421: The south the Nüst valley below Obernüst forms a natural boundary. The almost entirely Hessian range of the Milseburg Kuppenrhön ( Milseburger Kuppenrhön ), which bounds the Wasserkuppen Rhön , up to 950.0 m (3,117 ft), south of the Nüst valley and west of the Ulster valley. Again the keuper escarpment is missing and even the muschelkalk only appears in islands around individual domes. The majority of

3575-414: The southeast also extending into Thuringia. This region reaches a height of 629.9 m (2,067 ft) at the Soisberg in the north where the countryside is enclosed by the Seulingswald forest. It reaches even greater elevations in the extreme southeast, where the Habelberg (718.5 m (2,357 ft)) west of Tann stands opposite to and north of the Auersberg. This natural region is well known for

3640-420: The southeast. There is hardly any keuper escarpment there at all. The kuppen and plateaux rest directly on a bedrock of muschelkalk. This natural region runs northeast from the wide, pyramidal Pleß , 645.4 m (2,117 ft), far into the Bunter sandstone of the Stadlengsfeld Hills that descend to the River Werra . In the west the Middle Felda Valley forms a natural boundary between Kaltensundheim in

3705-533: The southwest and the Vogelsberg mountains to the west. Based on the effects of ancient volcanic activity, the Rhön can be divided into the "Anterior Rhön" ( Vorderrhön ), the "Kuppen Rhön" (geographical region 353, Kuppenrhön ) and the "High Rhön" (354, Hohe Rhön ). The terms "Anterior Rhön" ( Vorderrhön ) and "Kuppen Rhön" ( Kuppenrhön or Kuppige Rhön ) are somewhat misleading, since the "Anterior Rhön" also consists mainly of Kuppen or low mountains with dome-shaped summits. The name has genuine historic origins:

3770-459: The southwest, also the Brown Jura. The Upper Rhine Rift Valley and the Mainz Basin have relatively fertile arable land as a result of ice age deposits of loess . In the uplands, however, the soils only have low to medium productivity. In places where limestone reaches the surface, karstification has resulted in the formation of caves which drain almost all of the precipitation. As a result, these upland areas have very little surface water. This

3835-403: The springwater marshes of the Hohe Rhön . The wildlife in the Rhön mountains is similar to that of other low mountain ranges, but there are also some unusual species. In addition to the more common mammals such as roe deer , fox , badger , hare and wild boar , there are also smaller mammals such as the dormouse , common water shrew and Miller's water shrew . One unusual regional species

3900-423: The summit regions and does not blanket the entire landscape, as it does in the High Rhön. The domes or kuppen are the stumps of heavily weathered former volcanoes or volcanic pipes . Between pointed cones and broad domes lie many small plateaux, especially common in the Anterior Rhön. Over a foundation of Middle Bunter sandstone lie stratigraphic sequences of Upper Bunter ( Röt ), muschelkalk and keuper ,

3965-444: The various bee orchids and the military , lady , burnt , green-winged , man , pyramidal , frog and lizard orchids . Along the southern fringes of the Rhön, on the so-called slopes of steppe heathland ( Steppenheidenhängen ) grow warmth-loving plants such as white rock-rose , erect clematis and honewort . Amongst the most valuable habitats in the Rhön are the mountain meadows and fields of mat grass ( Nardetum strictae ) on

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4030-424: The various geological strata to the earth's surface where they could be easily observed and assessed. The most important strata are named after the geological periods of the Mesozoic era. These are, in order of their occurrence from west to east: Bunter sandstone , Muschelkalk , Keuper , Black Jura , Brown Jura and White Jura . Bunter sandstone occurs predominantly in the Northern Black Forest and has ensured

4095-410: Was deposited in the Germanic Basin , a large sedimentary basin that was the successor of the smaller Permian Basin and spread across present day Poland , Germany, Denmark , the southern regions of the North Sea and Baltic Sea , the Netherlands and south England. In the late Permian this region had an arid climate and it was covered by inland seas which deposited the Zechstein evaporites . At

4160-505: Was formed during the Mesozoic era. About 350 million years ago a large basin emerged which was surrounded by mountain ranges and ridges. Prior to that red sandstone had accumulated in the numerous depressions, the erosion products from the Variscan mountains . In the Triassic and Jurassic periods the region sometimes lay above sea level and sometimes below it, so that alternate beds of continental and marine deposition were laid down. The typical, present-day, escarpments have emerged since

4225-416: Was little chemical weathering . Therefore, the Buntsandstein deposits are typical red beds , mainly sandstones and conglomerates with little clay . The late Anisian saw a major rise of the global ( eustatic ) sea level. A tropical sea filled the Germanic Basin then, stopping the deposition of the Buntsandstein and marking the beginning of the deposition of the Muschelkalk. The Buntsandstein belongs to

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