Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Pitstone Quarry

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Grid reference
  
TQ013842

Location map
  
Magic Map

Area of search
  
Buckinghamshire

Interest
  
Geological

Area
  
10 ha

Notification
  
1988

Pitstone Quarry httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Pitstone quarry shenanigans


Pitstone Quarry is a 10.3 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pitstone in Buckinghamshire. It is the area between the lake and the railway line in College Lake nature reserve.

The site exposes deposits of the Middle and Late Pleistocene, during the last half-million years. Most sediments are the result of solifluction, repeated slippage during ice ages, with channels in the slopes filled with sediments. The most recent warm period, the Ipswichian around 125,000 years ago, contains hippopotamus fossils. According to Natural England evaluation continues and "the results are eagerly awaited".

There is access to College Lake from Upper Icknield Way, but the most important exposure is in an area closed to the public.

References

Pitstone Quarry Wikipedia