Paleontology Geoheritage of the Kaliningrad Region, South-East Baltic

The SE Baltic area, the former Eastern Prussia, is renowned for complex natural history. Over the past millions of years, the area experienced major geological events and geomorphic landscape transformations, resulting in the present relief configuration. Past climates and environments gave rise to the specific life-forms that proliferated in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic–Early Cenozoic shallow sea/lacustrine basins, and the Late Cenozoic riverine and continental settings. During the Paleogene, forested sub-tropical lands and deltaic settings of coastal sea lagoons gave rise to the famed amber formations (Blue Ground) hosting inclusions of resin-sealed insect and other small invertebrates that offer an unprecedented look into the 35–34 million-year habitats. Ferruginous sandstones, formed in shallow waters incorporating remains of thermophilous fauna—bivalves and gastropods, bryozoans, and sea urchins, among others—lie above the amber-bearing deposits. Oligocene–Miocene continental (riverine, lacustrine, and palustrine) conditions relate to the “Brown Coal Formation”, embedding a variety of fossil plants. Finally, the Quaternary Period brought dramatic geo-environmental shifts, with cyclic interstadial sea transgressions and massive glacial erosion events delivering fossiliferous erratics with an array of primitive Paleozoic and later Mesozoic life-forms. Overall, the extraordinary paleontology of the SE Baltic area adds, within its geological context, to the European geoheritage and the world natural heritage.