Contrasts of Facies of Contemporaneous Formations in the Alps GEOLOGICAL formations may vary greatly in character, or facies, from place to place. In the Swiss Alps the Mesozoic sediments show several facies associations, sufficiently definite to be given names. Of these the most commonly encountered is called Helvetian, while another of more restricted occurrence is called the Klippe facies. The name Klippe is taken from the German word for a cliff, because this particular facies is well displayed in some cliff-bounded mountains which form a conspicuous scenic element in the neighbourhood of Lake Lucerne. Equivalent formations exhibiting the Helvetian and Klippe facies are often so completely different in appearance that no one would guess their contemporaneity were it not for their contained fossils. This is truly amazing because the two facies in many localities lie cheek by jowl.