West Burrow Head
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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Caledonian Structures of the Southern Uplands | Favourable | — | 2015-03-24 |
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: Geological Fault
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
West Burrow Head West Burrow Head is a coastal geological site lying 3.5km southwest of the Isle of Whithorn. It is a most unusual site with a unique and well debated history as to its exact geological type and is the only one of its type in Wigtownshire. On this section of the coast, it is possible to view the controversial junction of the ‘Hawick Rocks’ of undetermined age, to the northwest, and rocks of proven ‘Wenlock’ age to the southeast. Where these two distinct geological features meet, it has been claimed this is evidence of a very large fault of some (10,000ft) displacement of the rocks immediately to the south. This geological interpretation, which partly relies on evidence gathered from scattered fossils found in the ‘Hawick Rocks’, suggests that the ‘Hawick Rocks’ are of Llandovery age, at some 443 million years old. An alternative explanation is that the ‘Hawick Rocks’ are of late Wenlock age at some 428 million years old or of Ludlow age at some 423 million years old. As can be seen on the site, the fault separating the two groups consists of five steep fracture surfaces that further separate into thin slices of moderately deformed greywacke to the south-east and have structural characteristics typical of the region. The site provides a vital opportunity to view an important discontinuity (a structural break in the rock structure) within the geological framework of the Southern Uplands. The nature and significance of this discontinuity has been debated for almost a century and remains controversial to the present day.