Viaduct Quarry
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST621442 | — | Favourable | 0.29 | 2012-03-28 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Jurassic · Rock Type: Limestone
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
Area, 0.3 ha. 0.8 ac. Description An important locality as the best exposed and thickest section in the Downside Stone. This facies, developed here in its type area, is a localised limestone development which accumulated adjacent to the Lowest Jurassic 'Mendip Island'. This 'littoral' facies of coarse, often conglomeratic limestones is in marked contrast to the contemporary offshore Blue Lias facies which is developed elsewhere in southern Britain, with the exception of closely comparable marginal marine areas in south Wales. Simplified Statement of Interest Viaduct Quarry has provided geologists with important information on the disposition of land and sea which existed in Southern Britain some 200 million years ago. At this time, much of the area was covered by a warm shallow sea, which was rich in marine life. The Mendip Hills existed as a series of islands at this time and the strata exposed in Viaduct Quarry are interpreted as the 'littoral' or nearshore deposits which accumulated in the inter tidal area adjacent to one of these islands. The conglomeratic limestones deposited in this environment contrast markedly with other sediments e.g.the Blue Lias which were laid down at the same time further offshore under deepwater conditions.