Central Europe’s largest basalt formation is located in the Vogelsberg Mountains, a region in Northeastern Hessen. Basalt is an igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava at or near the earth’s surface. A multitude of layers descend from the peaks to the base of the Vogelsberg in ring-shaped formations.
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Ammonites are extinct cephalopods found throughout the open seas from the Paleozoic to the Cretaceous periods. The chambered nautilus is its closest living relative. Ammonites are “index fossils” and provide useful information in labeling the rock layers containing the ammonite fossils to specific geological time periods. During the Cretaceous-Paleogene event, about 66 million years ago, ammonites, non-avian dinosaurs, and three-quarters of the earth’s plant and animal life became extinct by an impact of a large comet or meteorite.
