Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 54.8191, -1.3512

Also within

Durham County

Condition (Natural England)

Unfavourable Declining (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
NZ417473 Unfavourable Declining 0.74 2021-11-12

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Permian · Rock Type: Dolomite

Description

Description This shallow cutting uniquely exposes a transect from the reef flat to the crest of the shelf edge reef of the late Permian aged Zechstein Ford Formation. The reef flat rocks are exposed in the southwest and central parts of the cutting and comprise a crudely bedded mixture of in situ and reworked shallow water reef dolomite. These pass northeastwards into more massive reef dolomite in which successive positions of the reef crest appear to be marked by sharply steepening, eastwardly dipping, thin sheets of laminar probably algal dolomite.