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P22 · I.06(e) · Tools · Industrial · Paris Basin geology

Paris Basin geology — from surface to basement

Generic stratigraphic column of the Paris Basin from the surface to about 3,500 m TVD: geothermal Dogger, immersive reconstructions, and deeper petroleum potential. No named well, operator or service unit.

GEO-BASSIN-PARISIEN-SURFACE-PROFOND-2026 · rev.05C · 22 August 2026 · François Dorléans · partner comments locked

Quaternary Paris Basin reconstruction — woolly mammoths, sabre-toothed cat, giant deer, anachronistic Eiffel Tower as a submersion memory mark
Quaternary splash. Pleistocene megafauna on the Seine plain.

The Eiffel Tower is anachronistic. It is used only as a memory mark of prehistoric submersion level in the Paris region (the tower is 300 m tall).

Present · DFKPS Base dossier · PDF rev.05C I.06 Drilling chapter I.06(b) Low carbon I.06(d) Anti-collision Industrial tools

Partner review (protected): each section has a #tag. Comments blocked for the public until ?role=partner.

1. Prologue — the Paris Basin as a stratigraphic archive

2. Simplified stratigraphic column of the Paris Basin (0–3,500 m TVD)

Indicative TVD Formation / age Lithology and markers
0–150/250 m
~200–650 m
~650–900 m
~700–950 m
~900–1,650 m
1,650–1,700 m
> 1,680 m
~1,850–1,950 m
~1,950–2,300 m
~2,300–2,800 m
~2,800–3,500 m

3. Surface to Dogger — palaeontological saga

3.1 0–150/250 m — surface formations (Quaternary + Tertiary)

Quaternary reconstruction — woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, sabre-toothed cat, giant deer, anachronistic Eiffel Tower
Immersive reconstruction — Quaternary + Tertiary surface formations.

Open Imagine animation

3.2 ~200–650 m — Cenomanian–Turonian chalk (~100–88 Ma)

Cenomanian–Turonian chalk reconstruction — coccolith rain, mosasaurs, anachronistic Eiffel Tower almost fully submerged
Immersive reconstruction — Cenomanian–Turonian pure chalk (~95 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

3.4 ~700–950 m — Gault marls, Albian (~113–100 Ma)

Gault / Albian reconstruction — condensed tropical sea, glauconite marker, anachronistic Eiffel Tower
Immersive reconstruction — Gault marls / Albian (~100 Ma). Green glauconite pellets as a regional marker.

Open Imagine animation

3.5 ~900–1,650 m — Neocomian limestones (~145–125 Ma)

Neocomian reconstruction — epicontinental sea 50–100 m, anachronistic Eiffel Tower mostly submerged
Immersive reconstruction — Neocomian limestones (~145–125 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

3.6 1,650–1,700 m — Callovian clays (~166–163 Ma)

Callovian clay reconstruction — deeper quieter sea, anachronistic Eiffel Tower almost fully submerged
Immersive reconstruction — Callovian clays (~165 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

3.7 > 1,680 m — Dogger / Bathonian (~170–166 Ma) — oolite factory

Dogger / Oolite Blanche reconstruction — tropical carbonate platform, anachronistic Eiffel Tower as a submersion memory mark
Immersive reconstruction — Dogger / Oolite Blanche (~170 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

4. Below the Dogger — deep gas and oil potential (1,700–3,500 m TVD)

4.2 Lias / Early Jurassic (~1,950–2,300 m) — main source rock

Toarcian reconstruction — dark restricted sea, ichthyosaur, plesiosaurs, ammonites, anachronistic Eiffel Tower
Immersive reconstruction — Lias / Toarcian (~183 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

4.3 Triassic — Keuper and Rhaetian (~2,300–2,800 m)

Triassic reconstruction — alluvial plains, sauropodomorphs, fully visible anachronistic Eiffel Tower
Immersive reconstruction — Triassic Keuper–Rhaetian (~210 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

4.4 Permian–Carboniferous (~2,800–3,500 m)

Permian–Carboniferous reconstruction — coal forest, Arthropleura, giant amphibian, fully visible anachronistic Eiffel Tower
Immersive reconstruction — Permian–Carboniferous (~300 Ma).

Open Imagine animation

5. Key geological markers, from surface to basement

6. Typical drilling risks by formation, surface to reservoir

Formation Mud losses Water influx Gas (H2S / CH4) Sticking

References