Laycock Railway Cutting
Encyclopedia
Laycock Railway Cutting is a 1.3 hectare
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Milborne Port
in Somerset
, notified in 1993. It is a Geological Conservation Review
site.
Laycock Railway Cutting is the best single exposure of the Bathonian
’Fuller's Earth
Rock’ in South Somerset. Ammonites indicating the Morrisi and Subcontractus zones of the Middle Bathonian are frequent. Ammonites are generally
extremely rare at this level in Britain and their presence at Laycock is of international stratigraphic importance.
The combination of features of both litho- and chrono-stratigraphical importance make Laycock Railway Cutting a key British Bathonian locality.
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Milborne Port
Milborne Port
Milborne Port is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, east of Sherborne, and in the South Somerset district. It has a population of 2,735...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, notified in 1993. It is a Geological Conservation Review
Geological Conservation Review
The Geological Conservation Review is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological and geomorphological features of Britain...
site.
Laycock Railway Cutting is the best single exposure of the Bathonian
Bathonian
In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age or stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 167.7 Ma to around 164.7 Ma...
’Fuller's Earth
Fuller's earth
Fuller's earth is any non-plastic clay or claylike earthy material used to decolorize, filter, and purify animal, mineral, and vegetable oils and greases.-Occurrence and composition:...
Rock’ in South Somerset. Ammonites indicating the Morrisi and Subcontractus zones of the Middle Bathonian are frequent. Ammonites are generally
extremely rare at this level in Britain and their presence at Laycock is of international stratigraphic importance.
The combination of features of both litho- and chrono-stratigraphical importance make Laycock Railway Cutting a key British Bathonian locality.
Sources
- English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed 10 August 2006)
External links
- English Nature website (SSSI information)