The Germanic Basin (german: Germanisches Becken) is a large region of

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

that, during the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

and

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

periods, extended from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the west to the eastern border of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in the east. To the south it is bounded by the Vindelician Ridge (''Vindelizische Schwelle'') and, to the west and northwest, by the Armorican and

London-Brabant Massif The London-Brabant Massif or London-Brabant Platform is, in the tectonic structure of Europe, a structural high or massif that stretches from the Rhineland in western Germany across northern Belgium (in the province of Brabant) and the North Sea t ...

s. To the north the basin is bordered by the highlands of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, which were then still connected to the North American continent. To the east the basin was defined by the

East European Platform East European Platform or Russian Platform is a large and flat area covered by sediments in Eastern Europe spanning from the Ural Mountains to the Tornquist Zone and from the Caspian Depression, Peri-Caspian Basin to the Barents Sea. Over geologic ...

, to the northeast by the Fennoscandinavian Shield (Scandinavia and Finland). The sedimentation began in the

Rotliegendes The Rotliegend, Rotliegend Group or Rotliegendes (german: the underlying red) is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) of latest Carboniferous to Guadalupian (middle Permian) age that is found in the subsurface of large areas in wes ...

with continental depositions. Later, during the

Zechstein The Zechstein (German either from ''mine stone'' or ''tough stone'') is a unit of sedimentary rock layers of Middle to Late Permian (Guadalupian to Lopingian) age located in the European Permian Basin which stretches from the east coast of Englan ...

and

Muschelkalk The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; french: calcaire coquillier) is a sequence of sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Mid ...

the region was largely flooded by the sea.

Bunter sandstone The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...

and

Keuper The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late T ...

are again largely of continental origin. But even in these rocks the perimeter regions have marine influences, short incursions of the sea also reached the centre of the basin in northern Germany. During the Zechstein the sea ingressed from the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

to the north into the basin. This gateway closed during the Uppermost Permian. In the Triassic these marine incursions came through several "portals" in the south of the basin e.g. the East Carpathian Gate (East Poland), the Silesian Gate (West Poland) and the

Burgundian Gate The Belfort Gap ( ) or Burgundian Gate ( ) is the area of relatively flat terrain in Eastern France between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura Mountains to the south. It marks the watershed between the drainage basins of the River R ...

(France). During the Rhaetian stage, new inlets formed in the northwest of the basin through the former highlands in Ireland and Scotland, which came from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

which was now opening up.

Literature

* Gerhard Beutler und Joachim Szulc: ''Die paläogeographische Entwicklung des Germanischen Beckens in der Trias und die Verbindung zur Tethys.'' In: Norbert Hauschke und Volker Wilde (eds.): ''Trias Eine ganze andere Welt Mitteleuropa im frühen Erdmittelalter.'' pp.71-80, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, 1999 {{ISBN, 3-931516-55-5 Geology of Europe Regions of Europe Basins of Europe