The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France having developed since the Triassic on a basement formed by the Variscan orogeny. The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 245 to 202 Ma (million years ago). ... The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny is a geologic mountain-building event recorded in the European mountains and hills called the Variscan Belt. ...

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 to Poitiers and from Caen to the brink of the middle Rhine Valley, east of Saarbrücken. The Burghers of Calais, by Rodin, with Calais Hotel de Ville behind Location within France J.M.W. Turner: Calais Pier Calais (Dutch: Kales) is a town in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is... Location within France Poitiers (population 85,000) is a small city located in west central France. ... Location within France Caen is a city and a commune of northwestern France. ... Map of Germany showing Saarbrücken Saarbrücken [] is the capital of the Saarland Bundesland in Germany. ...

Geography

The countryside is one of plains and plateaux of limited altitude. In the south-east and east the plain of Champagne and the Seuil de Bourgogne 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 (lousy or shall we say, poor Champagne), the Pays de Caux and the Pays de Bray. Champagne is one of the traditional provinces of France, a region of France that is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the regions name. ... // Geography Étretat, falaise daval and the needle The Pays de Caux is a plateau of Upper Cretaceous chalk, like that which forms the North and South Downs in southern England. ... // Etymology Etymologically, the name of Bray comes from a Gaulish word for mud. ...

Structure

It is a geological basin of sedimentary rocks. It overlies geological strata disturbed by the Variscan orogeny and forms a broad shallow bowl in which successive marine deposits from throughout periods from the Triassic to the Pliocene were laid down: their extent generally diminishing with time. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... The term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... This article is about the geologic use of the term, for other uses see Stratum (disambiguation) Interstate road cut through limestone and shale strata in eastern Tennessee In geology and related fields, a stratum (plural: strata) is a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes it... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 245 to 202 Ma (million years ago). ... The Pliocene epoch (formerly Pleiocene) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ...

To the west, the strata folded by the Variscan, rise from below it in the hills of Brittany and in and east the Ardennes, Hunsrück and Vosges. To the south, it borders on the Massif Central and the Morvan. To the north, its strata link into those of the bed of the English Channel and south-eastern England. Other boundaries lie on ridges in less old rocks and scarps such as the Côte d'Or (on an Alpine fault line) and the Hills of Artois which overlie the margin of London-Brabant Island. Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. ... The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests and rolling hill country, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région). ... A typical view of the Hunsrück countryside. ... Vosges is a French département, named after the Vosges mountain range. ... France, viewed from the NASA Shuttle Topography Radar Mission. ... The Morvan is a mountainous massif lying just to the west of the Côte dOr escarpment in Burgundy, France. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche, IPA: , the sleeve), also for some time known in England as the British Sea, is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... The Côte dOr is a limestone escarpment in Burgundy, France. ... The Alps arose as a result of the pressure exerted on sediments of the Tethys Ocean basin as its Mesozoic and early Cenozoic strata were pushed against the stable Eurasian landmass by the northward-moving African landmass. ... Old fault exposed by roadcut near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ... Artois is a former province of northern France. ...

See also

• Geologic time scale

The geologic time scale is used by geologists and other scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth. ...

References

• Anon. Carte Géologique de la France à l'Échelle du Millionième ISBN 2-7159-2158-6
• Dercourt, J. Géologie et Géodynamique de la France 3rd. edn. (2002) ISBN 2-10-006459-2