Gypsum break Endsee
The Endsee gypsum quarry is a former quarry near Endsee , a district of the municipality of Steinsfeld in the Central Franconian district of Ansbach in Bavaria .
location
The quarry is located about 600 meters southeast of Endsee. It is part of the Frankenhöhe Nature Park , the LSG landscape protection area within the Frankenhöhe Nature Park (formerly a protection zone) and the Endseer Berg fauna-flora-habitat area
description
The Endsee gypsum quarry is an abandoned quarry in which a gypsum seam up to 7 meters thick was mined. It was formed around 230 million years ago at the time of the Middle Keuper through evaporation ( evaporites ) in a lagoon cut off by the sea .
At the base of the profile in the quarry, the layer package is well exposed, the so-called basic plaster . It consists of massive banks of gray and white plaster. It is a very soft and water-soluble rock that is easy to scratch. Precipitation and flowing water create grooves of different sizes (mm to several dm) on the rock surface, some of which are separated from one another by very sharp-edged ribs. This form of erosion, known as cart , can also be seen here. Above the base gypsum lie flat layers in which thin banks of gypsum alternate with colorful layers of marl or gray and red clay and silt rocks . A slight wrinkling can be seen here. In the lowest marl layer , there are impressions of the mussel Myophoria , which gave the entire layer package above the name myophoria layers . The gray clay and marl stones in the uppermost part of the profile are also included.
The Muschelkalkmeer slowly withdrew from the Middle Franconian region around 235 million years ago. This created the flat, coastal landscape of the Keuper period. The influences of sea and land alternated frequently. Lagoons, lakes, swamps and wide river plains shaped the landscape. At the beginning there were short individual sea floods and only in the course of the Middle Keuper did the sea largely retreat. The climate at that time was changeable, but mostly dry. In the lagoons, which were largely cut off by the sea, gypsum then formed through evaporation. This is why this period and its deposits are also known as gypsum keuper .
use
Today, gypsum is an important raw material in the construction industry. The basic gypsum of the Middle Keuper is the economically most important gypsum seam in Bavaria and is mined in various places. In the southern part of the Endseer Berg, gypsum is still extracted today. In order to be able to plan the border to "deaf" anhydrite in good time, investigation tunnels were driven into the mountain. The mouth of a tunnel can be seen in the quarry.
Geotope
The quarry is designated by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU) as a geoscientifically significant geotope (geotope number: 571A007). It was also awarded the official seal of approval for Bavaria's most beautiful geotopes by the LfU .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Location of the quarry in the Bavaria Atlas (accessed on October 27, 2017).
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - LSG within the Frankenhöhe Nature Park (formerly protection zone) (English)
- ↑ 6527-371 Endseer Berg. (FFH area) Profiles of the Natura 2000 areas. Published by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation . Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Endseer Berg (English)
- ↑ Bavarian State Office for the Environment, Geotop Gipsbruch SSE von Endsee (accessed on October 27, 2017).
- ↑ Bavaria's most beautiful geotopes, Gipsbruch Endsee (accessed on October 26, 2017)
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 26 ′ 38.9 ″ N , 10 ° 14 ′ 47.9 ″ E