Muschelkalk in the context of "Thuringian Basin"

In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between 246.7 Ma and 237 Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Early Triassic Epoch and followed by the Late Triassic Epoch. The Middle Triassic is divided into the Anisian and Ladinian ages or stages.

Formerly the middle series in the Triassic was also known as Muschelkalk. This name is now only used for a specific unit of rock strata with approximately Middle Triassic age, found in western Europe.

The Eichener See ("Lake Eichen"), known in the Alemannic dialect as the Eiemer See, near Eichen in the Baden-Württemberg county of Lörrach is a periodic (astatic) karst lake in the Southern Black Forest in Germany.

The lake, which only contains water when there is a high water table, lies in a hollow, a muschelkalk-karst basin. It has no surface inflow, its outflows are partly subterranean and partly through evaporation.

The Hainleite (German pronunciation: [ˈhaɪnˌlaɪtə]) is a Muschelkalk ridge of hills up to 463.2 m above sea level (NN) in northern Thuringia, Germany.

The Buntsandstein (German for coloured or colourful sandstone) or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsandstein predominantly consists of sandstone layers of the Lower Triassic series and is one of three characteristic Triassic units, together with the Muschelkalk and Keuper that form the Germanic Trias Supergroup.

The Buntsandstein is similar in age, facies and lithology with the Bunter of the British Isles. It is normally lying on top of the Permian Zechstein and below the Muschelkalk. In the past the name Buntsandstein was in Europe also used in a chronostratigraphic sense, as a subdivision of the Triassic system. Among reasons to abandon this use was the discovery that its base lies actually in the latest Permian.

The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late Triassic epochs (about 220 million years ago). The Keuper lies on top of the Muschelkalk and under the predominantly Lower Jurassic Lias or other Early Jurassic strata.

The Keuper together with the Muschelkalk and the Buntsandstein form the Germanic Trias Group, a characteristic sequence of rock strata that gave the Triassic its name.

Dry grassland is a habitat type that can be found across the world and has one of the most diverse plant communities in the world for its size.