Mediterranean-Mjosa Zone
The Mediterranean-Mjosa Zone is a Rift in the continental Crust crossing Europe from the Mediterranean Sea via Marseille, the Rhine rift until Mjøsa in the south of Norway at a length of 2000 km.
The term Mediterranean-Mjosa Zone (Mittelmeer-Mjösen-Zone) was coined by the German geologist Hans Stille about 1930. The rift is composed of the following sections: Valley of Rhône in France and its northern continuation the Bresse Rift, the Rhine Rift Valley and the Mainz Basin. Here the rift system splits up into a north-eastern and a north-western branch. Part of the nort-western branch is the Lower Rhine Bay and the Lower Rhine Rift as a central Netherlands rift system. The north-eastern branch continues with the Wetterau, the Giessen Basin, das Amöneburg Basin, the Upper Hessian Ridge near Neustadt, the West Hesse Depression, the Leine Rift, part of the Salt dome region in northern Germany, the Kattegat, the Oslo Rift and eventually Mjøsa with Lillehammer at its northern end.
In the surrounding of the Mediterranean-Mjosa Zone partially vulcanism occurred, e.g. Kaiserstuhl or Hoher Habichtswald west of Kassel, which primarily consist of Basalt.