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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Caledonian Structures of Shetland | Favourable | — | 2005-03-31 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Rock Type: Conglomerate, Quartzite
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
FUNZIE Funzie Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) consists of a stretch of cliffs and foreshore exposures on the south-eastern tip of the island of Fetlar. The site is on the western side of Funzie Ness and the boundary includes the Snap and Staves Geo. On the island, metasedimentary rocks of the East Mainland Succession, which are comparable to the Dalradian of the Scottish Mainland, are overthrust by two ophiolite nappes. Zones of tectonically mixed rocks (tectonic melanges) occur below, between and above the two ophiolite nappes and these include low grade metasedimentary rocks and conglomerates known collectively as the Phyllite Group. This locality exposes a section across the spectacular Funzie conglomerate within the middle melange. This unit separates the upper and lower ophiolite nappes on Fetlar and is believed to have formed during uplift and erosion of the lower nappe as it was transported to its current position. Ultrabasic rocks of the upper nappe (mainly harzburgites and dunites) are exposed at Staves Geo, where they rest with thrust contact above the Funzie conglomerate of the Phyllite Group. Deformation of the ultrabasic rocks in the hangingwall is largely confined to an anastomosing network of narrow shear zones in marked contrast to the strongly flattened and elongated quartzite pebbles within the conglomerate of the footwall. Moving south-eastwards towards The Snap, the spectacular thickness of the Funzie conglomerate can be demonstrated. This allows the pervasive deformation within the middle melange to be quantified in detail. As well as being a classic locality for detailed strain analysis, this site also provides a crucial insight into the nature of the large scale tectonic processes affecting northern Britain during the Caledonian orogeny.