Spiker's Hill Quarry
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE980861 | — | Unfavourable Recovering | 8.9 | 2010-06-30 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry
Description
Area, 6.4 hectares 15.8 ac Description Spiker's Hill Quarry is a key locality in the elucidation of the Lower and Middle Oxfordian biostratigraphy and palaeo environments within the Yorkshire Basin. The quarry shows the most comprehensive section through the Hambleton Oolite and Middle Calcareous Grit anywhere in inland Yorkshire. It also shows a rarely exposed bored surface at the base of the Malton Oolite. The eighteen metre sequence here spans rocks of the Cardioceras cordatum c. densiplicatum Zones C. cordatum C. maltonense Subzones. Towards the top of the Hambleton Oolite a stratigraphically and palaeo environmentally remarkable algal pisolite occurs. This rock unit maintains the same stratigraphic position for a distance of over 40 km. The ammonite fauna includes at least six species, mostly cardioceratids, the bulk of this fauna coming from the Pisolite bed or Blue Course. Other Information The site is listed as of national importance in the Geological Conservation Review.