September 30, 2025 to October 3, 2025
Hannover, Leibnizhaus
Europe/Berlin timezone

UNESCO Geopark Heeseberg

The Heeseberg hill crops out at a saddle structure in Lower Saxony, Germany, that formed via Zechstein salt diapirs around 140 million years ago during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Sedimentary deposits from the Buntsandstein period (~250 Ma), including the chemical-clastic sediments of the Germanic Basin at the Heeseberg were exhumed and crop out in abandoned quarries.

A key feature of the Heeseberg is the large number of stromatolites. The term "stromatolite" was first introduced by Kalkowsky in 1908, based on field discoveries of the nearby Asse region, which includes the Heeseberg section, establishing the Heeseberg as a type locality of global scientific significance. The quarries, originally used to extract the valuable "Rogenstein" (ooid-rich carbonate)  were designated as a National Geotope in 2007.

The exposed sections at Heeseberg showcase Rogenstein from the upper Bernburg Formation, part of the Lower Buntsandstein. These rock layers contain numerous clastic and chemical sedimentary series, including stromatolites that represent sea level fluctuations in the Germanic Basin.

The outcrops at Heeseberg are part of the Heeseberg Nature Reserve and belong to the UNESCO Global Geopark Harz.Braunschweiger Land.Ostfalen (HBLO).

For further information, please check out the following video about the Heeseberg, produced by the DGGV.

Source: digitalgeology.de/der-heeseberg