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Paris Basin (geology)
 
 
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The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 having developed since the Triassic
Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 annum . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic....
 on a basement formed by the Variscan orogeny
Variscan orogeny

The Variscan orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Laurasia and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangea....
.
region usually regarded as the Paris Basin is rather smaller than the area formed by the geological structure. The former occupies the centre of the northern half of the country, excluding Eastern France. The latter extends from the hills just south of Calais
Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
 to Poitiers
Poitiers

Poitiers is a city on the Clain in west central France. It is a commune in France and the capital of the Vienne d?partement in France and of the Poitou-Charentes r?gion in France....
 and from Caen
Caen

Caen is a commune in France in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados Departments of France and the capital of the Basse-Normandie r?gion in France....
 to the brink of the middle Rhine Valley, east of Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken

Saarbr?cken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city sits at the heart of a metropolitan area that bounds westwards to Dillingen, Saarland and northeastwards to Neunkirchen, Saarland, in which most of the people of the Saarland live....
.

countryside is one of plains and plateaux of limited altitude.






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The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 having developed since the Triassic
Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 annum . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic....
 on a basement formed by the Variscan orogeny
Variscan orogeny

The Variscan orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Laurasia and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangea....
.

Extent

The region usually regarded as the Paris Basin is rather smaller than the area formed by the geological structure. The former occupies the centre of the northern half of the country, excluding Eastern France. The latter extends from the hills just south of Calais
Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
 to Poitiers
Poitiers

Poitiers is a city on the Clain in west central France. It is a commune in France and the capital of the Vienne d?partement in France and of the Poitou-Charentes r?gion in France....
 and from Caen
Caen

Caen is a commune in France in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados Departments of France and the capital of the Basse-Normandie r?gion in France....
 to the brink of the middle Rhine Valley, east of Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken

Saarbr?cken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city sits at the heart of a metropolitan area that bounds westwards to Dillingen, Saarland and northeastwards to Neunkirchen, Saarland, in which most of the people of the Saarland live....
.

Geography

The countryside is one of plains and plateaux of limited altitude. In the south-east and east the plain of Champagne
Champagne (province)

The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne Champagne in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that Champagne ....
 and the Seuil de Bourgogne (Threshold of Burgundy) differential erosion of the strata has left low scarps with the dip slopes towards the centre. The varying nature of the clays, limestones and chalk gives rise to the characteristics of the regions such as Champagne Humide (Damp Champagne), Champagne Pouilleuse (poor Champagne), the Pays de Caux
Pays de Caux

The Pays de Caux is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the France d?partement in France of Seine Maritime in Haute-Normandie....
 and the Pays de Bray
Pays de Bray

The Pays de Bray is a small natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French D?partement in France of the Seine-Maritime, Somme and Oise ....
.

Structure

It is a geological
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 basin
Sedimentary basin

The term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation. As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and begin the process of lithification....
 of sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock is one of the three main Rock types . Sedimentary rock is formed by deposition and consolidation of mineral and organic material and from precipitation of minerals from solution....
s. It overlies geological strata
Stratum

In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes it from contiguous layers....
 disturbed by the Variscan orogeny and forms a broad shallow bowl in which successive marine deposits from throughout periods from the Triassic
Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 annum . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic....
 to the Pliocene
Pliocene

The Pliocene epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 1.806 million years before present.The Pliocene is the second epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic era....
 were laid down: their extent generally diminishing with time.

To the west, the strata folded by the Variscan, rise from below it in the hills of Brittany
Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
 and in and east the Ardennes
Ardennes

The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and old mountains formed on the Givetian Ardennes mountains, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel....
, Hunsrück
Hunsrück

The Hunsr?ck is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle River , the Nahe , and the Rhine ....
 and Vosges
Vosges

This article is about the department of France named Vosges. For the mountain range, see Vosges Mountains.Vosges is a France departments of France, named after the local Vosges Mountains....
. To the south, it borders on the Massif Central
Massif Central

The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus.Subject to volcano that has subsided in the last 10,000 years, these central mountains are separated from the Alps by a deep north-south cleft created by the Rh?ne River and known in French language as the sillon rhodanien ....
 and the Morvan
Morvan

*Morman was also the legendary chief of L?on, in Breton folktales.*Morvan's syndrome is a disorder affecting potassium channels in the brain and peripheral nerves....
. To the north, its strata link into those of the bed of the English Channel
English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
 and south-eastern England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. Other boundaries lie on ridges in less old rocks and scarps such as the Côte d'Or
Côte d'Or (escarpment)

The C?te d'Or is a limestone escarpment in Burgundy , France that lends its name to the C?te-d'Or which was formed around it. It stretches from Dijon in the north to the river Dheune to the south, overlooking the valley of the Sa?ne to the east....
 (on an Alpine
Alpine orogeny

The Alpine orogeny is an orogeny phase in the Tertiary that formed the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt. These mountains include the Atlas Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, the Pindus, the Carpathians, the Balkan Mountains, the Taurus Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, the Alborz, the Zagros Mountains, the Hindu Kush, t...
 fault line) and the Hills of Artois
Artois

Artois is a former provinces of France of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km? and a population of about one million....
 which overlie the margin of London-Brabant Massif.

See also

  • Geologic time scale
    Geologic time scale

    File:Geologic clock.jpgThe geologic time scale is a chronology schema relating stratigraphy to time that is used by geologys and other earth sciences scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth....
  • List of fossil sites
    List of fossil sites

    This is a worldwide list of important and/or well-known localities where fossils have been found. Such locations may either be a geological formation or a single site....
     (with link directory)