Bus Stop: Maria-Theresien-Straße
Not a flattering title for the sprightly lady, but those are the (rock)hard facts. Frau Hitt originated from an ancient ocean, the petrified sea floor of which today forms the Nordkette, the mountain range to the north of Innsbruck. By the way, her geological home is Africa, where that sea used to be about 240 million years ago. The sea floor undertook an astonishing journey to the north, rising in elevation by about 2.000 metres. The present appearance of the Nordkette was created by erosion processes in the last tens of thousands of years. So Frau Hitt is still quite young – at least if you look at her from a geological perspective.
01
Petrified Emmentaler? Far from it. This is a piece of limestone from the Nordkette, found not far from Frau Hitt. The elongated holes in this rock originate from minerals, which indicate a high evaporation in ancient shallow lagoons – similar to the Persian Gulf today.
02
Around 240 million years ago, the sea floor of the Nordkette was home to a wide variety of life. The tower snail can easily be recognized by its windings in the longitudinal section. Can you also spot the two cross-sections of other snails?
03
Petrified mud from the subtropical sea floor: this stone comes from Frau Hitt herself.
Faculty of Geo- and Atmospheric Sciences
Photo: © Paul Treichl 2019