Golden Hill Pit

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 54.2360, -0.8910

Condition (Natural England)

Unfavourable Declining (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
SE723828 Unfavourable Declining 0.69 2024-03-28

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Jurassic

Description

Area, 0.7 hectares 1.7 ac Description Golden Hill Pit shows almost twelve metres of late Jurassic strata, belonging to the Kimmeridge Clay. It is the only site in Yorkshire showing the autissiodorensis Zone, the lower part of the elegans Zone and the boundary between these zones. This is the type of locality for the ammonite Subdichotomoceras lamplughi. This boundary is not otherwise seen in any section between Dorset and Helmsdale Ross and Cromarty and, in northern Scotland, the sediments which occur do not allow detailed collecting such as is possible here. Other Information The site is listed as of national importance in the Geological Conservation Review.