Pre-Quaternary uplift in the central part of the Rhenish Massif.

Abstract

After the Lower Jurassic the Rhenish massif was no longer covered by the sea, except for the N and NW margins which were affected by short ingressions during the Upper Cretaceous. The first slight uplifting movements took place at the end of the Cretaceous and in the early Tertiary in the NW part of the massif. A short marine ingression covered large areas of the western massif in the Middle/Upper Oligocene. The main uplift started at the end of the Oligocene and continued up to the present and accelerated towards the end of the Miocene. The Rhine valley has existed since the Middle Miocene. -J.M.H.