Warboys Claypit
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL307818 | — | Favourable | 12.59 | 2014-04-30 |
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Jurassic
Description
Area, 12.5 hectares 30.8 ac Description This locality affords a rare opportunity to study surface exposures of two Upper Jurassic formations, the Upper Oxford Clay and Ampthill Clay, which are otherwise only examinable in boreholes. This unrivalled Oxfordian section shows more than 20 metres of Upper Oxford Clay, in the mariae and cordatum ammonite zones scarburgense bukoskii subzone overlain above a substantial non sequence by the Ampthill Clay two metres with vertebrale subzone ammonites and then, again above a sizeable break in the sequence, the ‘Warboys Rock’ and Ampthill Clay spanning the blakei to regulare ammonite subzones. Thus the sequence here covers much of Oxfordian time but with major phases of non deposition or erosion. This locality constitutes one of the most important reference sections in the Jurassic of the East Midlands.