Spot Lane Quarry |
Show Spot Lane Quarry on the Map >> Grid Reference: TQ793542 The eastern face of Spot Lane Quarry exhibits a cross-section through a series of cambered blocks, tilted downslope, and intervening loess-filled gulls (cracks). The features are formed in sandy limestone of the Hythe Beds, and slipping has taken place over underlying Atherfield Clay. The site provides the best cross-section through a series of cambers and gulls currently visible in Britain. Further, the loess in the gulls is noted for its fauna of land snails, possibly of Wolstonian age. Loess in Britain is typically unfossiliferous, and Spot Lane Quarry is one of very few sites available where loess fauna can be studied. Spot Lane Quarry is therefore a key Pleistocene site for periglacial, mass movement and palaeoenvironmental studies. For more information on this SSSI site visit the English Nature website. |
(Regionally Important Geological Sites)
RIGS are geological sites that are important for historical, scientific research or educational reasons.
(Sites of Special Scientific Interest)
SSSIs give legal protection to the best sites for wildlife and geology in England.