Newton St. Loe

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 51.3881, -2.4134

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Also within

Somerset County

Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (2)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
ST713655 — Favourable 2.33 2010-11-02
ST714656 — Favourable 2.33 2010-11-02

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: River Terrace · Geological Period: Quaternary

Landscape processes: Fluvial, Glacial

Description

Area, 2.26 ha. 5.58 ac. Description This site consists of a river terrace approximately 10m above the present River Avon. The Pleistocene fluvial gravels temporarily exposed at Newton St Loe exhibit scour and fill structures. The trough cross bedding is consistent with the gravels having been laid down by a braided river, a fluvial style usually associated with cold stage sedimentation. The provenance of the gravels is complex and they contain material from South Wales and Midland sources. The gravels were subsequently weathered and decalcified during interstadial episodes and cryoturbated under stadial conditions. Mammuthus spp mammoth and Equus spp horse have been recovered from the railway cuttings although poor preservation has not allowed identification of the species. The site is of considerable scientific importance as it represents the only remaining known exposure of fossiliferous Pleistocene gravels along the River Avon. Newton St Loe is part of a network of sites within the Avon lowlands that allows the history of early glaciation within the south west of England to be established.

Plant communities

A9 — Fast flowing river and stream, Marginal and inundation, Pond ditch and canal, Sluggish river and stream

Potamogeton natans community

Schoenoplectus lacustris, Juncus bulbosus, Sparganium angustifolium, Sparganium erectum, Sparganium minimum, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Lobelia dortmanna, Equisetum fluviatile, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor, Lemna trisulca, Nymphaea alba, Callitriche platycarpa, Callitriche stagnalis, Littorella uniflora, Potamogeton natans, Ranunculus trichophyllus, Glyceria fluitans, Chara subspinosa

A14 — Fast flowing river and stream

Myriophyllum alterniflorum community

Isolepis fluitans, Juncus bulbosus, Fontinalis antipyretica, Lobelia dortmanna, Equisetum fluviatile, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Lemna minor, Callitriche stagnalis, Littorella uniflora, Potamogeton filiformis, Potamogeton gramineus, Potamogeton natans, Ranunculus peltatus, Chara spp., Nitella hyalina

A17 — Chalk river and stream, Fast flowing river and stream

Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans community

Berula erecta, Nasturtium officinale, Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor, Callitriche stagnalis, Veronica beccabunga, Polygonum amphibium, Polygonum hydropiper, Potamogeton crispus, Potamogeton pectinatus, Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans

A18 — Fast flowing river and stream

Ranunculus fluitans community

Fontinalis antipyretica, Fontinalis squamosa var. curnowii, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Myriophyllum spicatum, Elodea canadensis, Mentha aquatica, Lemna gibba, Lemna minor, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Ranunculus fluitans, Glyceria fluitans, Phalaris arundinacea