The facies of a redbed succession from the lower Middle Muschelkalk of the SW Germanic Basin allows reconstruction of the depositional environment and inference with regard to the climate in a little studied part of Pangea's interior. The redbeds are dominated by fine-grained terrigenous deposits, with both intercalated thin sandstone and carbonate beds. The clastics were derived from the nearby hinterland, and their facies suggest episodic deposition on a playa mud flat or flood plain. The occurrence in the lower part of the succession of sand-patch breccias, ooids, and dolomicrite beds suggests an origin in saline pans and playa lakes. These diverse facies, and phreatic dolomites, reflect an arid climate during deposition.

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