Waberthwaite Quarry
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD112943 | — | Favourable | 3.73 | 2024-04-25 |
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: Ordovician · Rock Type: Granite
Landscape processes: Coastal, Volcanic / Igneous
Description
Area, 3.46 hectares 8.55 ac Description Waberthwaite Quarry is situated on the West Cumbria coast some three kilometres south east of Ravenglass and 15 kilometres north west of Millom. The geological interest of this site, in technical terms, may be defined as follows, This quarry constitutes one of the very few exposures of the 'grey granite' facies of the Eskdale Granite Intrusion. The rock is in fact an almandine biotite granodiorite containing well developed dark, biotitic xenoliths. Excellent exposures in a rare Ordovician granite intrusion, once dated as Caledonian but now of proven Ordovician age. In layman's terms, the interest of this site may be expressed more simply and such a statement is below, The quarry faces and outcrops within this site provide excellent exposures of a rock type known as granodiorite. This locally lies within the extent of the Eskdale Granite which was injected into the earth's crust from below, probably during the late Ordovician Period of geological history. This rock type forms an unusual variety of the Eskdale Granite and is very rarely well exposed, Waberthwaite Quarry providing the most important outcrops.