Mindel

Mindel is a name of German origin used for geographic features, geological time, and as a surname. In geography, Mindel refers to a river in Bavaria, Germany, located in the southern part of the country. The river lends its name to one of the key stages in Alpine geology.

In geology, the Mindel glaciation is one of the major Alpine glaciations of the Pleistocene, typically placed after the Günz stage and before the Riss and Würm glaciations. It is estimated to have occurred roughly 450,000 to 300,000 years ago, during which extended ice cover affected the Alps and surrounding regions. The name Mindel in geology arises from the practice of naming stages after nearby rivers or locales used to characterize ancient glaciations.

Mindel is also a surname in German-speaking contexts. It appears in genealogical and historical records and is occasionally found in combination with place-based identifiers in southern Germany. The root appears in several toponyms, such as Mindelheim, a town in Bavaria that carries the Mindel element in its name.