Buntsandstein
The Buntsandstein (German for coloured or colourful sandstone) or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsandstein predominantly consists of sandstone layers of the Lower Triassic series and is one of three characteristic Triassic units, together with the Muschelkalk and Keuper that form the Germanic Trias Supergroup.
| System | Series | Stage | Age (Ma) | European lithostratigraphy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurassic | Lower | Hettangian | younger | Lias |
| Triassic | Upper | Rhaetian | 201.4–208.5 | |
| Keuper | ||||
| Norian | 208.5–227.0 | |||
| Carnian | 227.0–237.0 | |||
| Middle | Ladinian | 237.0–242.0 | ||
| Muschelkalk | ||||
| Anisian | 242.0–247.2 | |||
| Bunter or Buntsandstein | ||||
| Lower | Olenekian | 247.2–251.2 | ||
| Induan | 251.2–251.9 | |||
| Permian | Lopingian | Changhsingian | older | |
| Zechstein | ||||
| Major lithostratigraphic units of northwest Europe with the ICS's geologic timescale of the Triassic. | ||||
The Buntsandstein is similar in age, facies and lithology with the Bunter of the British Isles. It is normally lying on top of the Permian Zechstein and below the Muschelkalk. In the past the name Buntsandstein was in Europe also used in a chronostratigraphic sense, as a subdivision of the Triassic system. Among reasons to abandon this use was the discovery that its base lies actually in the latest Permian.