page_title: North German basin
section_title: Stratigraphy
hierarchical_section_title: North German basin / Stratigraphy
caption_attribution_description: English: This figure breaks down the stratigraphic units of the North German Basin through time.
context_page_description: The North German Basin is a passive-active rift basin located in central and west Europe, lying within the southeastern most portions of the North Sea and the southwestern Baltic Sea and across terrestrial portions of northern Germany, Netherlands, and Poland. The North German Basin is a sub-basin of the Southern Permian Basin, that accounts for a composite of intra-continental basins composed of Permian to Cenozoic sediments, which have accumulated to thicknesses around 10–12 kilometres. The complex evolution of the basin takes place from the Permian to the Cenozoic, and is largely influenced by multiple stages of rifting, subsidence, and salt tectonic events. The North German Basin also accounts for a significant amount of Western Europe's natural gas resources, including one of the world's largest natural gas reservoir, the Groningen gas field.
context_section_description: The depositional history of the North German Basin is recorded within the stratigraphy sequence of sediments, which make up the basin. The poly-phase deposition of the basin can be broken down into strati-graphic units, each with their own distinct characteristics. The sedimentary basin was assembled above the Lower Paleozoic crystalline basement formed during the Caledonian Orogeny about 420-400 Ma.
caption: This figure breaks down the stratigraphic units of the North German Basin through time.
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