ABSTRACT
Numerous analyses of the indicator pebbles, gravel, heavy mineral contents and grain-size composition provide a firmly established picture of the lithology of the Quaternary deposits. Numerous pollen analyses indicate the development of interglacial and interstadial floras and comprehensive pedological investigations have revealed a number of characteristic fossil soils - especially in the loss sequence. Pleistocene ice sheet development and Quaternary river history are reconstructed on a detailed scale. The terrace deposits of all the rivers have been mapped and the longitudinal profiles of many of the terraces have been drawn. The terrace stratigraphy, which forms the foundation of the stratigraphical sequence, has been secured using interglacial sedimentary sequences. Fossil flora and fauna found have so far provided evidence of only three to four warm-temperate periods in the pre-Elsterian Pleistocene. Syndepositional cryoturbation structures occur within both gravel accumulations.
