The confluence area of Rhine, Meuse, and Belgian rivers: Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene fluvial history of the northern Lower Rhine Embayment

Abstract The fluvial history of the northern Lower Rhine Embayment shows interplay of three main river systems: Rhine, Meuse and smaller rivers draining the central and northern part of Belgium. The Pliocene and Early Pleistocene (pre-)Rhine and Meuse river systems had their conjunction in the southern part of the Roer Valley Graben between Aachen and Jülich. Despite slight differences in the heavy-mineral assemblages the lithological composition of the Pliocene deposits of the three river systems shows close resemblance and therefore they cannot be mapped separately. However, due to a marked... Mehr ...