Flint fields () are large natural deposits of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

. They are found in numerous Jurassic and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

beds A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

across the whole of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.''Breege''
at www.ruegenurlaub.de. Retrieved 19 Jun 2019 Such deposits may be found in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

-Lousberg, Kleinkems,

Schernfeld Schernfeld is a municipality in the district of Eichstätt in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alp ...

, Osterberg bei Pfünz,

Baiersdorf Baiersdorf is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in northern Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The major part of Baiersdorf is idyllically situated on a terrace which preserves the town from being flooded by the close Regnitz river ...

Abensberg Abensberg () is a town in the Lower Bavarian Districts of Germany, district of Kelheim (district), Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany, lying around southwest of Regensburg, east of Ingolstadt, northwest of Landshut and north of Munich. It is situa ...

- Arnhofen and Lengfeld as well as the German island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

Flint fields on Rügen

The flint fields on Germany's biggest island, Rügen, between

Mukran Sassnitz (, before 1993 in ) is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2012 was 9,498. Sassnitz is a well-known seaside resort and port town, and is a gateway to th ...

and

Prora The Colossus of Prora, commonly known as simply "Prora", is a building complex in the municipality of Binz on the island of Rügen, Germany. It was built by Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1939 as part of the Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch ...

in the northern part of the heath of

Schmale Heide The Schmale Heide (literally "Narrow Heath") is a 9.5-kilometre-long and roughly 2-kilometre-wide bar between the Baltic seaside resort of Binz and the village of Neu Mukran near Sassnitz on the German island of Rügen. It lies in the municipalit ...

are part of the

Stone Fields in the Schmale Heath and Extension The Stone Fields in the Schmale Heath and Extension () is a nature reserve (Naturschutzgebiet), 199 hectares in area, on the German island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It includes large flint fields (), a representative secti ...

nature reserve. They were also called the ''Steinernes Meer'' ("stony sea") and have an area of 40 hectares (2,000 × 200 metres). During a series of

storm flood A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

s, 3,500 to 4,000 years ago, the stones, from the Cretaceous deposits on the

Jasmund Jasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz ...

peninsula which had been broken up by the sea, were piled up here. The layer of flints is so thick that it does not allow more than a sparse vegetation layer. In 1840 the ''Schmale Heide'' was planted with a pine wood, which surrounds the flint fields today. Since 1935, when the region was given conservation status, many trees, bushes and other plant species have been able to develop undisturbed. By the middle of the 19th century and, for the last time in the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, attempts were made to protect the 14 open flint embankments from becoming overgrown, using perimeter fencing in places and introducing wildlife. The flint fields are a well-known tourist destination (). They cannot be accessed directly by car. Car travellers can park for a fee in the car park at the southern end of Neu Mukran and follow the two to three kilometre trail. The area can be reached by bicycle also from the south. The route to the southern end of the flint fields is a well maintained and picturesque woodland path which branches off () the old B 196a federal road immediately north of the caravan park (former traffic testing area). The nearest railway stop is Prora, around 2½ kilometres south of the area and five hundred metres south of the traffic testing area.

References

External links

{{Commonscat-inline, Flint fields Flint (rock) de:Feuersteinfelder