Grieston Quarry
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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Llandovery | Favourable | — | 2015-01-06 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Silurian
Description
GRIESTON QUARRY Grieston Quarry SSSI is located 1 km to the west of Innerleithen, on the opposite side of the Tweed valley, close to Cardrona Forest. The site shows exposures of sedimentary rocks formed around 430 million years ago by sediment deposited during the Llandovery Epoch within the lower Silurian geological time period, now tilted to lie at a near vertical orientation. This site is both famous and important for its graptolite fossils -an extinct group of colonial marine animals. This is the type locality for the graptolite Monoclimacis griestoniensis, the index species of the Griestoniensis biozone, which is named after the quarry. The graptolite fauna in the biozone at this site is diverse and contains a number of species, such as Monoclimacis drepanoformis, not recorded elsewhere. The rocks here are rarely seen in the Southern Uplands, and this, together with the fauna of the site, makes it important in correlating rocks of Silurian age and in the understanding of Llandovery palaeogeography.