Locality
7°10´ east longitude, 51°30´ north latitiude   [ map ]

Name
Ruhr region, Germany, Europa

Personal relationship of donor
Geology of fossil fuels collection

Historical relevance of location
The hard coal of the Ruhr district formed the basis of the industrialisation of Germany in the 19th century.

Political relevance of location
Coal mining in the Ruhr district, which is only rarely profitable, is being subsidised for socio-economic reasons.

Geological relevance of location
The warm, humid climate of the Carboniferous period favoured the growth of plants from which coal is formed, predominantly cryptogams.

Classification of the earth

Structure	hard coal
Colour	black
Age	Late Carboniferous, 320 million years

Donor

Geoscientific Collections Section of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources,
 Geological Survey of Lower Saxony,
 Hannover,
 Germany