Early Cretaceous

Abstract

The Early Cretaceous sea primarily covered the same basinal regions as the Late Jurassic sea but, late in the Early Cretaceous the sea also covered Late Jurassic land masses. During Early Cretaceous time the topography of the North Sea region became gradually buried. The following major transgression comprises the transition Early/Late Cretaceous. At the Jurassic/ Cretaceous transition, the Late Cimmerian unconformity is a significant feature (fig. 24), known from large parts of the North Sea region. The subsequent transgression and sedimentation of marine clay (the Valhall Formation), and marine sand (the LC-1 Unit), started late in Late Jurassic. Therefore, the formations described in the present chapter also comprise sediments of Late Jurassic age. Thicknesses of the Lower Cretaceous sediments are given in fig. 15.