Drente Formation

Code
NUDR
Status
Formal (Doppert et al. 1975). Amended (Bakker et al. 2003).
Lithological description

Fine to very coarse sand, gravelly. Greyish blue to brownish grey fine sand, gravelly (up to boulder size) and poorly sorted, very silty, slightly calcareous. Greyish blue to brownish grey clay and loam, very sandy to very silty, gravelly. Dark grey to dark brown silty clay, stiff, laminated.

Depositional setting

Glacial, including subglacial (till; diamict), fluvioglacial (sandur, kame and esker; sand), and glaciolacustrine (varved clay). Crystalline gravel originates from Scandinavian bedrock.

Definition of lower boundary

Typically sharp and unconformable. Diffuse where coarse gravelly sand overlies older fluvial units.

Definition of upper boundary

In the northern Netherlands, till locally exposed at the surface. Generally, sharp contact with aeolian and local river sand (Boxtel Formation). Diffuse where coarse gravelly sand underlies younger fluvial units (Kreftenheye Formation).

Thickness indication
Up to 60 m in glacial basins.
Geographical distribution
Regional correlation
North Sea: Molengat, Borkum Riff and Cleaver Bank Formations (defined and mapped in conjunction with the British Geological Survey); UK: Wolston Glacigenic Formation (McMillan et al. 2011); GER: Grundmoräne; BEL: not present.
Age
late Middle Pleistocene (middle - late Saalian).
Lectostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
0.65 - 3.55 m (2.9 m) below land surface
Lectostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
0 - 51.25 m (51.25) below land surface
Lectostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
51.0 - 111.2 m (60.2 m) below land surface
Lectostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
47.15 - 57.60 m (10.45 m) below land surface
Origin of name
Named after the province of Drenthe in the northeastern Netherlands.
Previous name(s)
Drenthe Formation (Zagwijn 1961), Molengat, Borkum Riff and Cleaver Bank Formations (Rijsdijk et al. 2005).
Reviewed by (date)
Wim Dubelaar (2018), Sytze van Heteren (2019).
References
Bakker, M.A.J., Den Otter, C. Weerts, H.J.T. 2003. Beschrijving lithostratigrafische eenheid. Nederlands Instituut voor Toegepaste Geowetenschappen TNO. Utrecht.
Doppert, J.W.Chr., Ruegg, G.H.J., Van Staalduinen, C.J., Zagwijn, W.H., Zandstra, J.G. 1975. Formaties van het Kwartair en Boven-Tertiair in Nederland. In: Zagwijn, W.H., Van Staalduinen, C.J. (eds.): Toelichting bij geologische overzichtskaarten van Nederland. Rijks Geologische Dienst, Haarlem, 11-56.
McMillan, A.A., Hamblin, R.J.O., Merritt, J.W. 2011. A lithostratigraphical framework for onshore Quaternary and Neogene (Tertiary) superficial deposits of Great Britain and the Isle of Man. British Geological Survey Research Report, RR/10/03, 343 p.
Zagwijn, W.H. 1961. Vegetation, climate and radiocarbon datings in the Late Pleistocene of the Netherlands. Part I: Eemian and Early Weichselian. Mededelingen van de Geologische Stichting, Nieuwe Serie 14, 15-45.
Cite as
TNO-GDN ([YEAR]). Drente Formation. In: Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the Netherlands, TNO – Geological Survey of the Netherlands. Accessed on [DATE] from https://www.dinoloket.nl/en/stratigraphic-nomenclature/drente-formation.