The Franconian Keuper-Lias Plains or Franconian Keuper-Lias Lands[1] (German: Fränkische Keuper-Lias-Land) are a major natural region in the South German Scarplands in Upper Franconia and to a lesser extent in the north, in the Thuringian district of Hildburghausen.
In addition, the fore-land of the Franconian Jura (Vorland der Fränkischen Alb), in which part of the Brown Jurassic occurs, as well as parts of the former volcanic region of Heldburger Gangschar belong to this region.
The highest elevation in the area is the unique Hesselberg (689 m) immediately north of the crater of the Nördlinger Ries which separates the Swabian from the Franconian Jura.
The conurbation of Nuremberg, with its outlying towns of Fürth and Erlangen, lie roughly in the centre of the Franconian Keuper-Lias Plains.
The Franconian Keuper-Lias Plains are part of the South German Scarplands and are further divided into natural regions as follows: [2][3](in brackets the predominant rock keuper (K), lias (L), and dogger (D))