Keith Water
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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Quaternary of Scotland | Unfavourable Declining | — | 2013-03-05 |
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Quaternary
Landscape processes: Glacial
Description
KEITH WATER Keith Water flows north to north-east approximately 2km from Humbie village, on the north-west side of the Lammermuir Hills in East Lothian. This site is notified for its exposed sections which illustrate interbedded till and sand and gravel deposits. Some are of longstanding historical interest and have provided the basis for establishing regional stratigraphies and interpreting the glacial history of a key area in a zone of interaction between Highland and Southern Uplands ice masses. Some interpretations have recognised two separate glacial episodes; another has recognised one glacial episode followed by a local readvance of ice. Other work, however, has stressed the great variability in the deposits between the different sections and suggested that they represent a single glacial episode and the complex association of depositional environments associated with its melting. In this context, the sections are of considerable sedimentological interest for the light they throw on Pleistocene glacial processes.