Stop 1 at Ries

Where am I on the tour map?

This is an excellent location to study polymict crystalline breccias in the megablock zone, the region of the faulted crater rim in the Ries structure. These impact breccias contain fragments from a variety of crystalline basement rocks (e.g., granite and gneiss) that have been uplifted by more than 500 meters, faulted and fractured. On top of these impact breccias, we see a layer of limestone, which was deposited in the lakebed that formed soon after impact. We'll revisit these crater-lake sediments at later stops 5 and 6.

Let's spend some time looking for samples of shocked basement gneiss. If you're lucky, you may also see some shatter cones. This is actually one of the very few places at the Ries where you may find shatter cones. To learn more about shocked basement, click here. To learn more about shatter cones, click here.

  NÖRDLINGEN  |  STOP  2