In the Quarry

Lang de

Triassic Muschel­kalk

The Muschelkalk represents the marine part of the Middle Triassic, when vast areas of Central Europe were flooded for six million years by a shallow sea.

The Lower Muschelkalk

The up to 120 m thick Lower Muschelkalk was also called Wellenkalk or Wellengebirge because of the dominating thinly and wavy bedded marly limestones. This is the typical sedimentary rock of the basin wide distributed Jena Formation, which is subdivided by three characteristic markerbed groups, the Oolite Beds, the Terebratula …

The Middle Muschel­kalk

The Middle Muschelkalk is characterised by evaporitic sediments that precipitated under subtropical climate from hypersalinar seawater when the water exchange between Tethys and Muschelkalk sea was restricted. Over the entire Central European basin the Middle Muschelkalk commences with the dolomitic and marly Karlstadt Formation, which was deposited under restricted shallow …

The Upper Muschelkalk

The transition from ochre-coloured dolomitic marls to grey limestones indicates the base of the Upper Muschelkalk. In Southwest Germany this subgroup was also called Hauptmuschelkalk or Friedrichshall Limestone in the pioneer period of geology. Its regional facies differences are highly developed. The Upper Muschelkalk commences with the Trochitenkalk Formation, thickly …

The Lower Keuper

The Lower Keuper or Lettenkeuper, formally Erfurt Formation, topping the Upper Muschelkalk was called Lettenkohle in the past because of its thin and poor coal seams. Letten is a dialect word that means nothing of value. The 20 up to more than 50 m thick succession of claystones, sandstones and …

Nature in the Quarry

The stone quarry – a vital piece of nature

For many years, it was the first option to re-fill clay pits, quarries and surface mines. Nature protection aimed at restoring the pre-exploitation landscape. Now it is common knowledge that abandoned pits gradually become reserves for animals and plants that otherwise disappear …