Inden Formation

Code
NUIE
Status
Formal (Van Adrichem Boogaert & Kouwe 1997). Amended (Menkovic & Westerhoff 2010).
Lithological description

Dark grey medium to very coarse sand, locally gravelly, minimally calcareous content. Dark grey to brown clay, slightly sandy and silty. Interbedded, locally clayey lignite seams with a lot of wood.

Depositional setting

Littoral and coastal lowland (proto-Rhine), including swamp (lignite), meandering channel (sand), residual channel (clay), crevasse (sand) and floodplain (clay) (Abraham 1994; Boersma et al. 1981; Schäfer et al. 2004; 2005).

Definition of lower boundary

Conformable contact with lignite (Ville Formation). Sharp contact with finer shallow-marine sand and clay, commonly glauconitic (Breda Formation).

Definition of upper boundary

Commonly, thick clay layer at the top. Sharp contact with coarser fluvial sand and gravel (Waubach Member, Kieseloolite Formation).

Thickness indication
Up to about 140 m in the Roer Valley Graben.
Geographical distribution
Regional correlation
North Sea: not present; UK: not present; GER: Inden Formation; BEL: Inden Formation.
Age
early late Miocene (Tortonian).
Holostratotype
Well:
Tagebau Inden and Tagebau Hambach (Germany)
Comments:
Surface mine for lignite extraction, east of Aachen.
Holostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
320.5 - 354.0 m (33.5 m) below land surface
Hypostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
116.5 - 152.0 m (35.5 m) below land surface
Lectostratotype
Well:
Depth (thickness) AH:
366.5 - 439.3 m (72.8 m) below land surface
Origin of name
Named after the village of Inden (Germany), east of the border with the southeasternmost Netherlands.
Previous name(s)
Inden Schichten (Hager 1966; 1968), upper part of Oberflöz or Oberflöz Gruppe (Upper Seam Group) (clastic layers 7A, 7C and 7E and lignite layers 7B (Friesheim), 7D (Kirchberg) and 7F (Schophoven) (Schneider & Thiele 1965).
Reviewed by (date)
Dirk Munsterman (2018), Sytze van Heteren (2019).
References
Abraham, M. 1994. Untersuchungen zur sedimentologischen Entwicklung der fluviatilen Deckschichten (Miozän, Pliozän) der Rheinischen Braunkohle. Bonner Geowissenschaftliche Schriften, 15, 1-27.
Boersma, J.R., Van Gelder, A., De Groot, T.A.M., Puigdefabregas, C. 1981. Formen fluviatiler Sedimentation in neogenen und jungeren Ablagerungen im Braunkohlentagebau Frechen (Niederrheinischen Bucht). Fortschritte in der Geologie von Rheinland und Westfalen, 29, 275-307.
Hager, H. 1966. Das Braunkohlenvorkommen. Geologische und bergbauliche Übersicht des rheinischen Braunkohlenreviers. Broschüre Tagung der deutschen Geologisches Gesellschaft in Köln. Krefeld, 11-13.
Hager, H. 1968. Zur Gleichstellung und Genese der Flöze im rheinischer Braunkohlenrevier. Fortschritte in der Geologie von Rheinland und Westfalen 16, 73-84.
Menkovic, A., Westerhoff, W.E. 2010. Beschrijving lithostratigrafische eenheid. Nederlands Instituut voor Toegepaste Geowetenschappen TNO. Utrecht.
Schäfer, A., Utescher, T., Mörs, T. 2004. Stratigraphy of the Cenozoic Lower Rhine Basin, northwestern Germany. Newsletters in Stratigraphy, 40 (1/2), 73-110.
Schäfer, A., Utescher, T., Klett, M., Valdivia-Manchego, M. 2005. The Cenozoic Lower Rhine Basin – rifting, sedimentation, and cyclic stratigraphy. International Journal Earth Science (Geologische Rundschau), 94, 621–639.
Schneider, H., Thiele S. 1965. Geohydrologie des Erftgebietes. Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 185 p.
Van Adrichem Boogaert, H.A. & Kouwe, W.F.P. 1997. Stratigraphic nomenclature of The Netherlands, revision and update by RGD and NOGEPA, Section I, Tertiary. Mededelingen Rijks Geologische Dienst, 50, 1-39.
Cite as
TNO-GDN ([YEAR]). Inden Formation. In: Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the Netherlands, TNO – Geological Survey of the Netherlands. Accessed on [DATE] from https://www.dinoloket.nl/en/stratigraphic-nomenclature/inden-formation.