Wetterstein Formation | |
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Stratigraphic range: Ladinian-Carnian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Sub-units | See text |
Underlies | See text |
Overlies | See text |
Thickness | up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Limestone, dolomite |
Location | |
Coordinates | 45°N20°W / 45°N 20°W |
Region | Alps, Central Europe |
Country | Austria Germany Hungary Slovakia |
Extent | Northern Limestone Alps, Western Carpathians |
Type section | |
Named for | Wetterstein Mountains |
Named by | Von Gümbel |
Year defined | 1861 |
Coordinates | 45°N20°W / 45°N 20°W |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 4°N4°W / 4°N 4°W |
Wetterstein limestone | |
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Stratigraphic range: Middle—Late Triassic | |
Type | Geological formation |
Thickness | 600 m |
Lithology | |
Primary | Limestone |
Location | |
Region | Alps, Central Europe |
Country | Austria, Germany, Switzerland |
The Wetterstein Formation is a regional geologic formation of the Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians extending from southern Bavaria, Germany in the west, through northern Austria to northern Hungary and western Slovakia in the east. The formation dates back to the Ladinian to Carnian stages of the Late Triassic. The formation is named after the Wetterstein Mountains in southern Germany and northwestern Austria. The center of its distribution, however, is in the Karwendel Mountains. It occurs in the Northern and Southern Limestone Alps and in the Western Carpathians.
The formation is composed of mostly reefal limestones and dolomites, the latter the result of widespread diagenesis. In many areas there is a frequent alternation of limestone and dolomite facies. Local variants to indicate the Wetterstein Formation include German : Wettersteinkalk (Wetterstein Limestone), Wettersteindolomit ("Wetterstein Dolomite") and combinations thereof. The Wetterstein Formation reaches a maximum thickness of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) with major regional thickness variations. It belongs to the tectonostratigraphical unit Austroalpine nappes. The carbonate rock of the formation is from the Middle Triassic epoch of the Ladinian stage, comparable to the German stage in which Muschelkalk rock strata were formed.
The formation has provided numerous fossils of corals, sponges, bivalves, gastropods and other marine groups indicative of a shallow marine carbonate platform environment deposited at the northern end of the Tethys Ocean.
The Wetterstein Formation is named after the Wetterstein Mountains in southern Germany and northwestern Austria.
Alternative names for the whole formation or parts of it in stratigraphical (vertical) or facies (lateral) sense are:
The Swiss stratigraphical lexicon uses Wetterstein Formation as "informal, but used name" with the following historical variants: [6]
Its subunits include:
The Wetterstein Formation, with a total thickness of up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), [6] is a major regional stratigraphic unit of the Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians in Central Europe, spanning across four countries from southwestern Bavaria to northwestern Slovakia.
The formation crops out to the north of the Hohe Tauern window and is part of the Austroalpine nappes.
In the Semmering area of Austria, where the name Wettersteindolomit is used, the formation is unconformably overlain by the Kapellener Shale and overlies the Reifling Formation, in the Kalkkögel and Radstadt Tauern the dolomite overlies the Partnach Formation and is overlain by the Raibl Formation, while in Tyrol the formation, called Wettersteinkalk/dolomit unconformably overlies the Gutenstein and Steinalm Formations and unconformably underlies the Reingraben Formation. [2]
In the Aggtelek-Rudabánya mountains of Hungary, the formation, called Wetterstein Limestone Formation overlies the Reifling and Steinalm Formations and is overlain by the Szádvárborsa Formation. [3]
In Austria the Wetterstein Dolomite correlates with the Alberg Formation of the Linz Dolomites, the Wetterstein kalk/dolomite with the lower part of the Hallstatt Formation of the Northern Limestone Alps and with the Schlern Dolomite, or Schlern Formation, in the Southern Limestone Alps. [3]
In Hungary, the formation is time-equivalent with the Berva Formation of the Bükk, the Bódvavölgyi Ophiolite, Szentjánoshegy and Derenk Formations of the Aggtelek-Rudabánya range and the Csanádapáca Formation of the Békés Zone. [3] In the Dinarides, the formation is time-equivalent with the Grivska Formation of Bosnia. The Kopaonik Formation in its eponymous mountain range in Serbia is considered a distal, more deep water equivalent of the Wetterstein platform sediments. [7]
Dolomitization of the Wetterstein Carbonate Platform is a widespread phenomenon, especially in the Tirolic units of the Northern Calcareous Alps. At the Clessinsperre, the type locality for the underlying Steinalm Formation, intense dolomitization has altered the microfacies characteristics of the Wetterstein Carbonate platform – typical are fore-reef carbonates, later reefal and back-reefal carbonates topped by lagoonal carbonates, making the original features hardly visible. [8]
Because, during dolomitisation, traces of fossils are largely lost as a result of recrystallisation, fossils in the Wetterstein dolomite are harder to distinguish, and even in thin sections may be barely recognizable. Wetterstein dolomite is rarely as bituminous as typical Main Dolomite and therefore tends to be much more pure and brighter-coloured. Otherwise, there are no fundamental differences with the Wetterstein limestone.
Among others, the following fossils have been described from the Wetterstein Formation:
Group | Unit | Fossils | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sponges | Wettersteinkalk, Austria | Alpinothalamia bavarica , Follicatena cautica , Colospongia catenulata , Cryptocoelia zitteli , Solenolmia magna , Uvanella irregularis , Vesicocaulis alpinus , V. depressus , V. oenipontanus | [9] |
Wetterstein reef limestone, Hungary | Paravesicocaulis concentricus , Senowbaridaryana triassicus , Vesicocaulis multisiphonatus | [10] | |
Brachiopods | Wettersteinkalk, Austria | Stolzenburgiella baloghi | [11] |
Corals | |||
Gastropods | |||
Bivalves | |||
The Liard Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Triassic to Late Triassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin that is present in northeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Liard River, and was first described from outcrops on the southern bank of that river, near Hell Gate Rapids in the Grand Canyon of the Liard, by E.D. Kindle in 1946.
The Shadow Lake formation is a geological unit that crops out in Southern Ontario, Canada and northern Pennsylvania, United States. The shaly sections act as a caprock to petroleum reservoirs.
San Cassiano Formation (Anisian-Carnian) is a geologic formation located on the Southern Alps in the Dolomites. These Triassic dolomites are considered to be a classic example of ancient carbonate platforms. As the allochthonous elements in the Shale strata show a good preservation, fossils and microbialites contained in these elements are useful in detailed geochemical analyses.
The Cairn Formation is a geologic formation of Late Devonian (Frasnian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It was named for the Cairn River near its junction with the Southesk River in Jasper National Park by D.J. McLaren in 1955.
The Southesk Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains and foothills of Alberta and southeastern British Columbia. It was named for the Southesk River in Jasper National Park by D.J. McLaren in 1955.
The Beaverfoot Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Ordovician to Early Silurian (Llandovery) age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta, and the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia. It consists of carbonate rocks, and was named for the Beaverfoot Range at Pedley Pass southeast of Golden, British Columbia by L.D. Burling in 1922.
The Fairholme Group is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian (Frasnian) age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains and foothills of Alberta and British Columbia. It was named for the Fairholme Range near Exshaw in the Canadian Rockies by H.H. Beach in 1943.
The Sierra Madre Formation is a geologic formation in Chiapas state, southern Mexico. It consists of marine dolomites and limestones. The formation dates to the Middle Cretaceous, spanning from the Aptian of the Early to the Cenomanian of the Late Cretaceous.
The Baitoa Formation is a geologic formation in Dominican Republic. The formation consists of siltstones and limestones deposited in a shallow marine to reef environment. The formation, unconformably overlying the Tabera Formation and unconformably overlain by the Cercado Formation, preserves bivalve, gastropod, echinoid and coral fossils dating back to the Burdigalian to Langhian period.
The Ramsau Dolomite is a dolomitic geologic formation in the Northern Limestone Alps, in Bavaria, Germany. It is a unit of the Wetterstein Limestone found in the Limestone Alps. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carnian stage of the Triassic period.
The Kössen Formation is a Late Triassic (Rhaetian-age) geological formation in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria and Germany, in the Tiroler-Lech Nature Park. During the Late Triassic, the area now occupied by the Northern Calcareous Alps was instead a long, passive coastline at the western tip of the Neotethys Ocean. The environment was initially dominated by a wide and shallow carbonate platform within a lagoon between the shore and a string of reefs. This carbonate platform is nowadays preserved as the Carnian to Norian-age Hauptdolomit and Dachstein Formation. The Kössen Formation represents a period of increased siliciclastic clay input into the lagoon, covering up the carbonate platform with marls and marly limestones instead of pure limestone or dolomite. The Eiberg Member of the Kössen Formation was deposited in the Eiberg basin, a narrow strip of deeper water which developed between the carbonate platform and the shoreline in the later part of the Rhaetian.
The Allgäu Formation is a geologic formation in Austria, Germany and Slovakia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages of the Early Jurassic period, or Raricostatum to Obtusum in the regional stratigraphy. Initially and formally defined by Jacobshagen (1965). The Allgäu Formation is formerly known as spotted marls (Lias-Fleckenmergel) and spotted marly limestones (Fleckenkalk). The formation is represented by dark-grey bioturbated limestones and marlstone interbeds. It represents basinal hemipelagic facies common in Alpine Tethys regions of Alps, Carpathians and other mountain ranges. Several horizons of the formation are particularly rich in ammonite fauna.
The Steinalm Formation is a geologic formation in the Northern Limestone Alps, in Austria.
The Schlern Formation, also known as Schlern Dolomite, and Sciliar Formation or Sciliar Dolomite in Italy, is a limestone, marl and dolomite formation in the Southern Limestone Alps in Kärnten, Austria and South Tyrol, Italy.
The Lunz Formation is a geologic formation in Austria and other Tethyan regions. It is composed of quartz sandstone, shales and claystones, locally with coal interbeds. The basal part of the formation may contain marine fossils. It preserves fossils dated to the Carnian stage of the Triassic period and represents significant siliciclastic input into the European carbonate shelf due to the Carnian Pluvial Event.
The Oberrhaet Formation, also known as the Oberrhaet Limestone, is a Late Triassic (Rhaetian-age) geological formation in Austria. It is a unit of massive dark grey bioclastic limestones, found within the Northern Calcareous Alps. The Oberrhaet Limestone was originally a series of reefs which developed on the northwest edge of the Eiberg Basin, a narrow marine waterway extending along the northwestern tip of the Neotethys Ocean. The center of the Eiberg Basin is nowadays preserved as the Eiberg Member of the Kössen Formation, which was deposited southeast of the Oberrhaet Limestone and interfingers with it in many areas. The Oberrhaet Limestone was very similar to the Dachstein Limestone, which represented carbonate platforms and reefs on the southeast edge of the Eiberg Basin. The most prominent components of the reefs were giant frond-like colonies of Retiophyllia, a scleractinian coral.
The Partnach Formation is a Middle Triassic geologic formation in the eastern Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians, within Austria and Slovakia, Central Europe. The formation consists of alternating grey and green marls and shales and grey limestones, often brecciated, oncolithic and containing clay intraclasts. The formation is gradually evolving from the Reifling Formation. It is usually overlain by the Lunz/Reibl Formation or Wetterstein Formation. Sediments of the Partnach Formation were deposited in intrashelf basins.
Oncodella is an extinct genus of Late Triassic conodont. The genus was given the type species Oncodella idiodentica by Mosher (1968), on the basis of fossils from the Late Triassic of Austria. However, Mosher (1969) later revised the species name to Oncodella paucidentata, since identical fossils from the same area were previously given the name Hindeodella paucidentata by Mostler (1967).
The Travenanzes Formation is a Late Triassic limestone, marl and dolomite formation in the Southern Limestone Alps in Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.