The stratigraphic position of the enigmatic Tertiary deposits called Holset sands, and of related sands in Belgium

Abstract

The Holset Sands are Tertiary sands of uncertain age that occur on old surfaces in Dutch South Limburg. By comparing the extent and facies of well-known Tertiary deposits in the neighbourhood with those of the Holset Sands, the authors arrive at a likely correlation with the Latdorfian Grimmertingen and Neerrepen Sands. The lower part of the Boncelles Sands from the region of Liege. which were considered to belong to the Upper Oligocene. is also correlated with the Latdorfian sands, while the upper Boncelles Sands are correlated with the Rupelian Berg Sands. This model requires a minimum number of large transgressions and assumes that the Grimmertingen transgression was the only one to reach high Belgium.