Chapter 4 The european cenozoic rift system

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the European Cenozoic Rift system (ECRS) extending from the Mediterranean to the North Sea over a distance of some 1100 km. It is a continuous system of rift structures from the Rhine depression in southeastern France to the Leine graben in northern Germany and through the Lower Rhine Embayment in western Germany into the central graben in the North Sea. Taphrogenesis is additionally influenced by erosional processes along the elevated graben shoulders and the consequent transport of debris into the graben depressions. Several thousand meters of sedimentary infill deposited in the fault troughs correspond to proportional denudations of the elevated flanks.