Mill Bay
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Quaternary of Scotland | Favourable | — | 2014-09-29 |
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
Geological Feature: Erratic · Geological Period: Quaternary
Landscape processes: Coastal, Glacial
Description
Mill Bay Mill Bay is a large sandy bay on the east coast of central Stronsay with the Site of Special Scientific Interest being at the south of the bay following the foreshore. The feature of the site is the exposed shelly till of the naturally eroding embankment. Mill Bay provides the best available exposures of the classic shelly till of Orkney. It is one of the few sites where shell fragments are relatively abundant and has also yielded a wide range of erratic materials. It demonstrates particularly well the general direction of ice movement onshore and towards the north-west. Mill Bay is also significant for the dating potential which the shells provide. Preliminary results from amino acid analyses, taken in conjunction with those from Caithness and other evidence from the central North Sea, provide some support for Early Devensian glaciation. If substantiated, this raises important implications for Late Quaternary palaeoclimate and glacier reconstructions.