THE PERMIAN PERIOD. 



629 



origin. In southern Germany, Bohemia, and France, the Zechstein 

 h^s little representation. 1 



The Upper Permian of western Europe is remarkable for the fact 

 that certain thin beds of peculiar character are exceptionally persis- 

 tent over wide areas. Thus at its very base, there is a thin but per- 

 sistent bed of conglomerate (perhaps a basal conglomerate), and a 

 little higher in the series there is a thin layer, rarely reaching a thick- 

 ness of as much as five meters, and often less than one, which, over 



Fig. 289. — Sketch map of Europe showing the areas of deposition in the early part 

 of the Permian period. The lines indicate areas of marine sedimentation, and 

 the dots areas of non-marine sedimentation. (After De Lapparent.) 



very considerable areas, carries abundant ores of various metals, among 

 which copper is prominent. It also carries abundant fish remains, 

 and is rich in bitumen. This layer (Knpferschiefer), thin as it is, has 

 long been worked in Germany, now chiefly about Mansfield, especially 

 for the copper. The ore occurs in small grains, distributed through 

 the sedimentary bed. The grade of the ore is rather low, but it is 



1 Kayser, op. cit., p. 225. 



