Limestone & Calcite in 1!

Here is a limestone rock I picked up whilst walking through the forest above the Bielefeld Tier park in Germany. The fact that it is largely limestone shows that this area when it was submerged in the shallow sea had an abundance of life.

Interesting to note the mineralised calcite on the surface fig 1 This rock differs from what is found further south down Teutoburg ridge which is predominantly Sandstone. The rock formations in this area were uplifted during the Late Cretaceous (~90 Ma) this tectonic movement was an effect of the continents of Africa and Europe colliding, placing horizontal pressure on the European continent. The same Oregonian event created the Alps in southern Germany.

More info can be found here at the Geographical Commission for Westphalia: 

WESTPHALIA IN THE UNDERGROUND: TECTONIC UNITS

fig1

fig2