Saxothuringian Zone

Most important structures and zones of the Hercynian orogeny in Europe.[1]

The Saxothuringian Zone, Saxo-Thuringian zone[2] or Saxothuringicum is in geology a structural or tectonic zone in the Hercynian or Variscan orogen (380-270 million years old) of central and western Europe. Because rocks of Hercynian age are in most places covered by younger strata, the zone is not everywhere visible at the surface. Places where it crops out are the northern Bohemian Massif, the Spessart, the Odenwald, the northern parts of the Black Forest and Vosges and the southern part of the Taunus. West of the Vosges terranes on both sides of the English Channel are also seen as part of the zone, for example the Lizard complex in Cornwall or the Léon Zone of the Armorican Massif (Brittany).

  1. ^ Map is based on Franke (1992, 2000), Matte (2001), von Raumer et al. (2003) and Walter (2003)
  2. ^ Kohl, Horst; Marcinek, Joachim and Nitz, Bernhard (1986). Geography of the German Democratic Republic, VEB Hermann Haack, Gotha, pp. 8 ff. ISBN 978-3-7301-0522-1.