Nettleton Chalk Pit

Also within

Lincolnshire County Lincolnshire Wolds Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Cretaceous · Rock Type: Chalk

Description

Area,7.7 ha. Description The geological interest of this site, in technical terms, may be defined as follows, The site provides one of the very few exposures of Red Chalk and Carstone in Lincolnshire. Both these lithologies are excellently displayed here, beneath the Chalk and the Carstone shows a particularly coarse lithofacies. The rarity of exposure of these formations in eastern England makes this locality particularly vital in studies of deposition and lithostratigraphy of the area in Lower Cretaceous times. In layman's terms, the interest of this site may be expressed more simply and such a statement is provided below. This should not be taken as definitive and further information as to details of the interest can be obtained from the Nature Conservancy Council. This quarry exposes the strata which lie beneath the Chalk of eastern England and which are known as Red Chalk and Carstone which lies beneath it. These strata are important to geologists in allowing them to develop a better understanding of the environments which existed in this area during the Lower Cretaceous Period of geological times, about 95 million years ago. There are few exposures of these rocks in eastern England and the section seen here, in addition to being well exposed, also shows sedimentary features of particular interest within the Carstone.