Dromore
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Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Devonian · Rock Type: Mudstone
Description
Dromore Devonian stratigraphy The rocks exposed at Dromore belong to the Shanmullagh Formation and are of Lower Devonian age, approximately 370 million years old. The rocks are red to purple sandstones interbedded with thin beds of mudstones and siltstones. The available evidence indicates that these rocks were formed on a low-lying inland plain experiencing desert conditions but subject to periods of temporary, or flash, flooding. At Dromore, there is evidence of these flooding events in the form of an erosive channel complex. The channels eroded by the flash flood events were then infilled with fine grained sandstones and ripped up clasts of mudstone. From other parts of the Shanmullagh Formation, the frequent presence of ripple marks in sandstones, with desiccation cracks in succeeding thin mudstones, indicates the intermittent nature of extensive flooding with high evaporation leading to a complete drying out of temporary lakes and other water bodies. https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/publications/dromore-assi