On the provenance of the Early-Pleistocene fluvial system in the southern Netherlands

Abstract

Two series of Early Pleistocene fluvial deposits near Galder (southern Netherlands) are overlain by a series consisting of Weichselian aeolian and locally reworked aeolian deposits. Each of the three series is characterized by its own specific mineral association. Special attention is drawn to the origin of the upper fluvial unit which belongs to the 'Alphen Sands'. Mineralogical and petrographical analyses indicate a mainly southern ('pre-Scheldt') provenance of the sand fraction and a mixed southern and southeastern (Meuse) origin of the gravels. The Meuse transported gravel from the Ardennes and from the Cretaceous plateau between Liège and Maastricht.