The Germanic Trias Supergroup (german: Germanische Trias-Supergruppe) is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of

rock strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...

) in the subsurface of large parts of western and central Europe (north of the Alps) and the North Sea. Almost all of the Germanic Trias was deposited during the Triassic period and consists of three clearly different units: Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk 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 ...

, that gave the period its name (''Triassic'' means "threefold"). In the past the names of these three units were also used as units in the

geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...

, but in modern literature they only have a lithostratigraphic meaning.

Origin

The Germanic Trias formed in the large

Germanic Basin The Germanic Basin (german: Germanisches Becken) is a large region of sedimentation in Western and Central Europe that, during the Permian and Triassic periods, extended from England in the west to the eastern border of Poland in the east. To the ...

, a basin that covered much of midwestern Europe (including the south of the North Sea and Baltic Sea) during the Triassic. The Muschelkalk has a predominantly

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

facies In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formatio ...

whereas the Buntsandstein and Keuper are mostly continental.

Stratigraphy

In the central parts of the Germanic Basin, the Germanic Trias has an average thickness of 800 meters, but regional differences are considerable. In the north of Germany the thickness of the Buntsandstein alone can exceed 1400 meters. The Germanic Trias lies on top of the Permian

Zechstein Group 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 below Lower Jurassic units, such as the Lias Group or Altena Group. The base is not defined in the same way everywhere. In northern Germany the base is formed by the

Calvörde Beds Calvörde () is a municipality in the Börde district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Flechtingen. Geography Calvörde is situated approximately northwest of Haldensleben and northwest ...

, in the Spessart and

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

by the base of the Heigenbrücken-Sandstone. Radiometric dating has shown the age of the Germanic Trias is not totally corresponding with the Triassic period. The base of the Buntsandstein was formed during the

Changhsingian In the geologic time scale, the Changhsingian or Changxingian is the latest age or uppermost stage of the Permian. It is also the upper or latest of two subdivisions of the Lopingian Epoch or Series. The Changhsingian lasted from to 251.902 mill ...

, the uppermost stage of the Permian, about . The top of the Keuper is

Rhaetian The Rhaetian is the latest age of the Triassic Period (in geochronology) or the uppermost stage of the Triassic System (in chronostratigraphy). It was preceded by the Norian and succeeded by the Hettangian (the lowermost stage or earliest age ...

in age and at about at least a few million years older than the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Usually there is a stratigraphic hiatus between the base of the Lias and top of the Germanic Trias. In German lithostratigraphy, Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk and Keuper are seen as

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

. Dutch lithostratigraphy divides the Germanic Trias along other boundaries in a

Lower Germanic Trias Group Lower may refer to: * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни ...

and an

Upper Germanic Trias Group Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

. The Dutch Keuper and Muschelkalk have the status of formations while the Dutch Buntsandstein is subdivided in a number of formations. The Bunter of British stratigraphy is similar in age,

lithology The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Lit ...

and facies to the Buntsandstein.

References

{{Authority control Permian Europe Triassic Europe Geology of Germany Lithostratigraphy of Germany North Sea