# Northern Harz Boundary Fault

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The **Northern Harz Boundary Fault**[1][2] (German: *Harznordrandstörung* or *Harznordrandverwerfung*) is a [geological fault](/source/Geological_fault) where the [Harz Block](/source/Harz_Block), which consists of rocks formed during the [Palaeozoic](/source/Palaeozoic) Era and folded in the course of [Hercynian mountain building](/source/Hercynian_mountain_building), borders on the [Subhercynian Basin](/source/Subhercynian_Basin) or [Harz Foreland](/source/Harz_Foreland). The fault is also known in English as the Harz North Rim Fault[3] or Harznordrand Thrust (Fault).[4]

The northern edge of the Harz is oriented in a [Hercynian](/source/Variscan_orogeny) (WNW-ESE) direction and runs from Neuekrug-[Hahausen](/source/Hahausen) via [Langelsheim](/source/Langelsheim), [Goslar](/source/Goslar), [Bad Harzburg](/source/Bad_Harzburg), [Ilsenburg](/source/Ilsenburg), [Wernigerode](/source/Wernigerode), [Blankenburg](/source/Blankenburg_(Harz)), [Thale](/source/Thale) and [Gernrode](/source/Gernrode) to the area of [Ballenstedt](/source/Ballenstedt).

The Northern Harz Boundary Fault forms the southern border of the Northeast German Basin, a part of the Central European Basin. The Subhercynian Basin, also known as the Harz Foreland, is a small sub-basin of the Northeast German Basin. This intracontinental basin that has been subsided since the [Permian](/source/Permian) period was formed from the Hercynian foreland basins and accumulated sediments of the Mesozoic era. The basin was formed by a deformation or bulging of the [Moho](/source/Mohorovi%C4%8Di%C4%87_discontinuity). In the Cretaceous the basin was squeezed by [Alpine orogeny](/source/Alpine_orogeny) which also uplifted the Harz Block.

The Northern Harz Boundary Fault was activated in the [Early Cretaceous](/source/Early_Cretaceous) and the Harz was uplifted along the line of the [fault](/source/Fault_(geology)). The Harz Block was thrust over the Mesozoic strata of the Subhercynian Basin, steeply tilting its [Mesozoic](/source/Mesozoic) strata. The most intensive phase of uplift occurred in a period of about 2 million years from the middle of the [Santonian](/source/Santonian) age to the lower [Campanian](/source/Campanian). The completion of uplift is shown by the fact that the rocks of the [Upper Cretaceous](/source/Upper_Cretaceous) lie at a much shallower angle than those of the Lower Cretaceous, and that, in some places, they overlap [discordantly](/source/Unconformable). The uplift is still going on today.

Along the western part of the fault, the Harz was lifted by at least 5 to 7 km, which can be estimated from the thickness of the [Mesozoic](/source/Mesozoic) rocks deposited in the Harz Foreland and [eroded](/source/Erosion_(geology)) Paleozoic rocks. The Harz was partly thrust over the layers of Mesozoic rock to the north. Here, the Mesozoic strata were tilted steeply (70-80 degrees) or even overturned. A good example is at the Langenberg Quarry, but there are also many other outcrops that show the steeply sloping strata. In these strata, rocks of the [Jurassic](/source/Jurassic) are steeply inclined. Near Blankenburg and Ballenstedt there are rocks lying at steep angles from the [Cretaceous](/source/Cretaceous), which form the so-called Devil's Wall or *[Teufelsmauer](/source/Teufelsmauer_(Harz))*. They include, *inter alia*, rocks of Heidelberg Sandstone, a [silicified](/source/Silicified) quartz sandstone.

Springs rise along the entire fault system, both those with low quantities of minerals as well as [mineral water](/source/Mineral_water) springs. The mineral waters are used, for example, in Bad Harzburg, by the spa industry.

## See also

- [Geology of Germany](/source/Geology_of_Germany)

## References

1. McCann, Tom (2008). *The Geology of Central Europe: Mesozoic and Cenozoic*, Geological Society, London, p. 1255. ISBN 978-1-86239-264-9.

1. Littke, Ralf; Bayer, Ulf and Gajewski, Dirk (2008). *Dynamics of complex intracontinental basins: the Central European Basin System.*, Springer, Berlin, p. 48. ISBN 978-3-540-85085-4.

1. Mueller, A;G. (2008). *SGA Web Mineral Deposit Archive*, Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, [Presentation at www.e-sga.org](https://www.e-sga.org/fileadmin/sga/Mineral_Deposit_Archive/Rammelsberg/Rammelsberg_SGA_MDA.pdf) Accessed on 28 Nov 2010.

1. Nielsen, Ole (2008). *Salt tectonics* at [my.opera,com](http://my.opera.com/nielsol/blog/salt-tectonics). Accessed on 28 Nov 2010.

## Sources

- Mohr K. (1998), "Harz- Westlicher Teil" (in German), *Sammlung Geologischer Führer*. Vol. 58, M. Gwinner (ed.), Berlin-Stuttgart: Borntraeger, ISBN 3-443-15071-3
- König W. (2008), "Zeitliche und genetische Einordnung von tertiären Sedimentvorkommen im Mittelharz und im Harzvorland: Ein Beitrag zur Reliefentwicklung und zur Karstmorphogenese im Harz" (in German), Dissertation an der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (ed.), p. 151

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Northern Harz Boundary Fault](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Harz_Boundary_Fault) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Harz_Boundary_Fault?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.