Seavington St. Mary

Also within

Somerset County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Rock Outcrop · Geological Period: Jurassic

Description

Area, 0.31 ha. 0.77 ac. Description Extensive exposures through much of the Inferior Oolite. This is the most westerly outcrop of this formation in England. It is thus of considerable importance in interpreting the local stratigraphy and sedimentology in relation to the palaeogeography of south west England in Middle Jurassic times. A valuable Aalenian Bajocian locality affording a prime educational and research facility. Simplified Statement of Interest This statement should not be taken as definitive and further information as to details of the interest can be obtained from the Nature Conservancy Council. During the Middle Jurassic period, some 175 million years ago, southern England lay beneath a shallow sea in which a series of marine limestones, known as the Inferior Oolite, accumulated. Deposition of these rocks took place in a series of sedimentary basins and the significance of this locality is the fact that it is the most westerly exposure of these rocks in Britain. This is important to geologists as it provides evidence of the environmental conditions which prevailed near the western limits of the depositional basin and enables them to infer the geography of this area during Middle Jurassic times.