Horn Park Quarry

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 50.8161, -2.7712

Condition (Natural England)

Unfavourable Declining (1) Favourable (2)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
ST457019 Unfavourable Declining 0.46 2023-01-18
ST457021 Favourable 2.21 2021-11-16
ST458019 Favourable 2.21 2021-11-16

Geology & landscape

Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Jurassic

Description

Area, 2.8 hectares 7.0 ac Description This quarry represents a key reference section for rocks of the Aalenian Stage of geological time, laid down approximately 170 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. The study of the sections seen here is critical for the definition of the Aalenian Stage in an international context. The site shows exposures in limestones of the Inferior Oolite, spanning both the Aalenian Stage and the succeeding Bajocian Stage and is of great importance palaeontologically and stratigraphically. A complete sequence through Aalenian rocks is present and is the most important sequence of this age anywhere in Britain; it is also critical for relating the British succession to successions seen elsewhere in Europe. Although the Aalenian rocks are very thin, all three ammonite zones are present, yielding abundant fossils vital for correlating these rocks with those from other localities in Britain and Europe.