Palmers Hill Railway Cutting
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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Non-marine Devonian | Favourable | — | 2008-11-11 |
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian · Rock Type: Sandstone
Landscape processes: Fluvial, Volcanic / Igneous
Description
Palmers Hill Railway Cutting Palmers Hill Railway Cutting is a disused railway line, located 1 km west of the village of Saughtree, in Liddesdale. The site includes rocks exposed along a 350 m section of the railway cutting. This site has a 23 m section through the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous age Upper Old Red Sandstone of the Scottish Border Basin. The Upper Old Red Sandstone sediments rest unconformably on Wenlock (Mid Silurian age) Flysch, and are overlain by the Early Carboniferous age Birrenswark Lavas. The sediments are fluvial sands, with two excellent examples of fossil carbonate soil (calcrete) horizons near the top of the sequence. Volcanic debris occurs between the two calcrete horizons and above the upper horizon, which lies about a metre below the Birrenswark Lavas. The site is important for reconstructions of the palaeogeography, sedimentary environments and climate of the Scottish Borders in the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous.