Ringdown is a 4.0 hectare

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...

 (9.9 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Burnworthy in the Blackdown Hills

Blackdown Hills

The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1991....

 of 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 1990.

The site is located on a valley side in the Blackdown Hills where outcrops of both Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 Upper Greensand and underlying Triassic

Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

 Keuper Marls occur. Amongst the vegetation present are two species which are very restricted in South West Britain, White Beaksedge

Rhynchospora

Rhynchospora is a genus of about 250-300 species of sedges with a cosmopolitan distribution. The genus includes both annual and perennial species, mostly with erect 3-sided stems and 3-ranked leaves...

 (Rhynchospora alba) and Dioecious Sedge (Carex dioica). This site is the only known location for the latter in Somerset. A colony of the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary , called the Silver-bordered Fritillary in North America, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family...

(Boloria selene) is found here.