Aachen Formation

The Aachen Formation (Dutch: Formatie van Aken, German: Aachen-Formation) is an Upper Cretaceous geologic formation in the southern Netherlands and northeastern Belgium and adjacent Germany.^[1]

Aachen Formation
Stratigraphic range: Santonian-Campanian ~86.3–83.6 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
The Aachen Formation in Hergenrath
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Vaals Formation
Overlies	Limburg Group
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	50.8°N 5.9°E / 50.8; 5.9
Approximate paleocoordinates	40.8°N 7.3°E / 40.8; 7.3
Region	Dutch Limburg, Belgian Limburg, North Rhine-Westphalia
Country	Belgium, Germany, Netherlands
Type section
Named for	Aachen
Region	North Rhine-Westphalia
Country	Germany
Aachen Formation (Netherlands)

It is stratigraphically equivalent to the middle part of the Chalk Group of England, and named after the German city of Aachen.

Geography

The formation crops out in southern Belgian and Dutch Limburg and adjacent areas in Germany. The formation can also be found in the subsurface of West Flanders, where it forms an aquifer from which drinking water is won.

Geology

The Aachen Formation consists of glauconite bearing sand. It was deposited during the Santonian and Campanian ages (85.8 to 70.6 million years ago) of the Cretaceous Period.

The formation rests unconformably on top of Carboniferous rocks of the Limburg Group, which are more than three times as old. Overlying the Aachen Formation is the Vaals Formation, equivalent to the upper part of the Chalk Group of England.

Fossil content

Among others, the following fossils have been reported from the formation:^[1]

Corals

• Cunnolites^[2]

Flora

• Nicolia^[3]
• Verrutriletes

Conifers

• Cycadeospermum

Pollen

• Chrysotheca^[4]
• Geleenites^[4]
• Spherites^[4]
• Triletes^[4]

See also

• List of stratigraphic units in the Netherlands
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in the Netherlands
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Belgium
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Germany