English: Limestone quarry in the “Mittlere Schwäbische Kuppenalb” (North Central Swabian Alb), Willmandingen/Sonnenbühl, view WSW.

The quarry wall exposes thickly bedded limestone of the “Untere Felsenkalk Formation” (Kimmeridgian). Fissures and joints within the limestone are filled with Cenozoic, tropical, highly weathered soils of mainly brown-red color. Inclusions of grey marl appear to be randomly distributed in the limestone. In the terrain beyond the right margin of the image, there are abandoned pits which used to be mined for “Bohnerz” (the Cenozoic fissure fill: clay and coated grains of iron oxides/hydroxides).

Note that the modern soil on top of the limestone forms a thin veneer only, which is typical for karstic areas (except of river valleys with high rates of deposition).