Liether Kalkgrube
Coordinates: 53 ° 43 ′ 16 " N , 9 ° 40 ′ 47.2" E
The Liether Kalkgrube is located in the Pinneberg district , east of the village of Klein Nordende . It is a former opencast mine that was closed in 1986. The area was designated as a nature reserve in 1991 and was designated a " National Geotope " in 2006.
geology
The pit opens up an insight into geological layers that normally lie deep underground in the North German Plain . It is a salt diapir from the Permian ( Rotliegend and Zechstein I and II - Werra series and Staßfurt series).
The sequence of rocks from the Permian in the Liether Kalkgrube is described on an information board on the nature trail. Here is a shortened version:
| deposit | Mightiness | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| middle Zechstein | |||
| Stinkschiefer (gray-black limestone slate with calcite) | approx. 60 m | ||
| Werra anhydrite (white, partly finely layered anhydrite) | > 10 m | ||
| Limestone ash (weathered and leached Zechstein limestone) | 8-20 m | ||
| Cystic lime (blistered and porous due to leaching) | 1-3 m | ||
| lower Zechstein | |||
| Zechsteinkalk (hard lime and carbonaceous marl shale) | 6-10 m | ||
| Zechstein conglomerate, base sand (gray, clayey) | 0.5-1.2 m | ||
| Rotliegend | |||
| Sand-lime brick (brown-red, clayey) | 2.3-3 m | ||
| Red lying clay (brick red, contains plaster of paris and rock salt) | several 100 m | ||
Since Mesozoic elements were not found in the salt eruption of the outcrop, it can be assumed that the salt diapir was not formed - like most others - in the Upper Cretaceous , but as early as the Paleozoic . These chimney-like rock layers, known as Salzdiapir, Salzdom, Salzhorst or Salzstock, come to the surface in some places in Northern Germany, including here near Elmshorn . Other near-surface salt diapirs can be found near Bad Segeberg , Lüneburg or Gorleben , for example . The salt diapir of Lieth is counted among the so-called Rundhorsten.
The structure of the salt diapir is well known from the outcrop itself and from drilling to a depth of more than 1,300 meters. Fossil finds (in the copper slate of the Zechstein) have contributed to the scientific exploration of the locality.
The flanks of the saddles and hollows of the ascended rock layers are very steep (130 ° to 150 °). In the middle of the pit, at a depth of around 30 meters, part of the gypsum hat of the salt diapir is exposed .
The locally narrowly delimited, Quaternary layer sequence of redistributed kaolin sands and lignite seams that was created in connection with the salt rise is referred to as the "Lieth series". The location of these layers suggests that significant movements must have taken place in this area as early as the Quaternary. Quaternary structures have been discovered in the western part of the pit, which are interpreted as ice wedges.
Before the site was placed under protection, it was possible to collect rocks, fossils and minerals there. The pit was particularly popular because of the occurrence of fluorite , chalcopyrite and Marienglas , a variety of the mineral gypsum . Some attractive mineral levels are exhibited in the Museum for Nature and Environment Lübeck . Ganoid fish were also found in the copper shale .
History and origin of name
When the Altona-Kieler Railway was built in 1844, part of the salt diapir was cut. The red clays found in the process were mined and used for brick production, later also the lime ashes (weathered Zechstein lime), which were processed into fertilizers and used for road construction.
The name "Liether Kalkgrube" goes back to the village "Lieth", which was formerly located in the area, and whose name goes back to the Old Saxon word for "slope".
Todays situation
The area, which is now under nature protection, is open to the public. The gray and red rocks of the Zechstein and the Rotliegend are visible, as is the plaster hat. Display boards provide information about the geological relationships. The protection is primarily used to preserve this very important geological outcrop, but also to protect the limestone marsh flora, insects, amphibians and some bird species that have developed there after the end of economic use.
The Tornesch Cultural Association has been looking after the Liether Kalkgrube NSG since 1995. During the discussion about the designation of the lime pit as a nature reserve in 1986, the cultural community campaigned intensively for the protection of this geological feature. On November 15, 1986, the cultural community organized a guided tour through the mine, which was attended by around 370 people. Prof. Dr. Grube and Dr. Ross from the State Geological Office took the lead. In 1991 the mine was placed under protection and opened on June 18, 1992 in the presence of the State Environment Minister Prof. Berndt Heydemann. By the end of 2008, around 8,000 visitors had been guided through the nature reserve by the cultural association.
The Tornescher Klaus-Groth-Schule maintains a sponsorship with the nature reserve.
In May 2006, the Liether Kalkgrube geotope was classified as one of the most important geotopes in Germany by the Academy for Geosciences and awarded the title “National Geotope”. The working group VI of the cultural community deals intensively with the care and support of the NSG. The head of the working group and honorary chairman of the cultural community HJ Wohlenberg was appointed in 1995 by the State Office for Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection as a protected area officer of the NSG.
The erratic boulder garden in the entrance area of the pit was set up in 2004. Information boards explain the age and origin of the rocks and the effect of the Quaternary ice advances in the region.
Local flora
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b B. Menke, S. Christensen, F. Grube & P.-H. Ross: The Lieth / Elmshorn salt dome and the Quaternary of Westholstein. In: Excursion guide geological history of the North Sea and Baltic Sea region. Hamburg 1984, p. 453.
- ↑ Wilhelm Wolff and Herbert-Lothar Heck: Earth history and soil structure Schleswig-Holstein. P. 27, Hamburg 1949
- ↑ Wolfgang Laur : Historisches Ortsnamelexikon von Schleswig-Holstein , 2nd edition, Neumünster 1992, p. 430.
- ↑ Alf Grube, Hans-Joachim Wohlenberg: Salt dome in the book of geological history - The Lieth lime mine near Elmshorn . In: Ernst-Rüdiger Look, Ludger Feldmann (Ed.): Fascination Geology. The most important geotopes in Germany , E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-510-65219-3 , p. 8f.
- ↑ Flyer about the Liether Kalkgrube (pdf 6.3 MB)
literature
- B. Menke, S. Christensen, F. Grube & P.-H. Ross: The Lieth / Elmshorn salt dome and the Quaternary of Westholstein. In: Excursion guide geological history of the North Sea and Baltic Sea region. Pp. 445-465, Hamburg 1984.
- Wilhelm Wolff and Herbert-Lothar Heck: Earth history and soil structure of Schleswig-Holstein. Hamburg 1949.
- Reinhard Zölitz: Landscapes- historical excursion destinations in Schleswig-Holstein. Neumünster 1989. ISBN 3-529-05405-4
- Karl Gripp : geological history of Schleswig-Holstein. Neumünster 1964.
- Kurt Hucke : Introduction to bed load research. Oldenzaal (NL) 1967.
- A. Grube: On the structure and development of large ice wedge forms in Lieth / Elmshorn (Schleswig-Holstein). In: Ice Age and the Present. 56/4, Hannover 2007. doi : 10.3285 / eg.56.4.03
Web links
- Homepage of the NSG Liether Kalkgrube
- Experiments with rocks from the Liether Kalkgrube, PDF 84.7 kB
- official leaflet with detailed map, pdf 3.6 MB
- Nature Conservation Ordinance
- Mineralienatlas - The Lieth limestone quarry near Elmshorn
Buttermoor / Butterbargsmoor | Elbe island Pagensand | Eschschallen in the Seestermüher foreland | Haseldorfer Inner Elbe with Elbe foreland | Heligoland rock base | Holmmoor | Liether Kalkgrube | Lummenfelsen on the island of Helgoland | Neßsand | Tävsmoor / Haselauer Moor