Duchy Quarry
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK094767 | — | Favourable | 1.79 | 2012-10-25 |
| SK094769 | — | Favourable | 0.55 | 2012-10-25 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Limestone
Landscape processes: Volcanic / Igneous
Description
Area, 2.4 ha. 5.9 ac. Description The rock faces and outcrops within this site provide excellent exposures of limestone layers formed about 335 million years ago, during the early Carboniferous Period. The limestones, which here are known as the 'Chee Tor Rock' include fossil rich layers of special importance for accurately dating the sequence of rocks and making comparisons with rocks of similar age elsewhere. One of the important fossiliferous layers in the Chee Tor Rock is found only at this locality. The quarry faces are divided up by well marked layers which have weathered back into a series of miniature caverns. These layers result from intervals during the formation of the limestones when deposition ceased and the sea floor where deposits had accumulated was uplifted and exposed above sea level. During these periods, soils formed on the surface by accumulation of volcanic ash and percolating water partially dissolved away the limestone layers beneath. This is a nationally important, early Carboniferous, geological locality.