The cliffs for about 2 km to the west of Cowbar Nab are capped by glacial till, bedrock being at 40 to 50m O.D. Staithes Beck has cut a deep channel through the till in to the solid strata. On the coast, several landslips and rockfalls can be seen and, in contrast, examples of slow, gradual marine erosion. The marine erosion has been the subject of detailed studies by Agar (1960) and by Durham University in recent years.
Make your way across the beck and follow the Cleveland Way up the steep, stepped path and then eastwards where there is a view of the Old Gut dock (marked 1 on the plan). Pass the path down to the shore at NZ 725 198 and North Warren Cottage (Tile Sheds). (2 cisterns (2) are missed unless one deviates along the coastal path). At NZ 735 197 fork left off the Cleveland Way to go down the track in to the quarries.
The alum works was started in the mid-17th century and closed in about 1860. There was a major redevelopment about 1800 when a new alum house was constructed by Hummersea beach. The history and industrial archaeology of the alum works has received much attention in recent years and, in particular, there is the major survey by English Heritage (Hunt et al. 2004). The main sites are included in the mini-geotrail.
View the geomorphology of this area (much of which has now been donated to Tees Valley Wildlife Trust. The scarp line of Saltwick Sandstone is set back from the coast and is paralleled underground by the subcrop of the Cleveland Ironstone Formation (see the geological map). The, therefore, deep embayment is infilled by till that is much landslipped on the seawards side. The Snailah Ponds, still shown on modern maps, are said to have been infilled by material from Boulby Potash Mine development.
Boulby Quarry and the sea cliffs beneath (making use of the tracks down to the shore) are where several 19th century and, more recently, geologists such as Chowns made measured sections. That by Lewis Hunton (1836) is the most notable as he independently recognized the importance of collecting fossils in-situ, and relating the fossils found to the beds in which they occur bolstering the emerging concept of biostratigraphy.
Iron carbonate (FeCO3), or siderite from the Greek sideros meaning iron, is a major source of ore for steel-making being usually low in sulphur and phosphorous, and high in manganese and/or magnesium.
This mineral is able to assume almost any colour but commonly brown, yellowish-brown, or grey specimens can be found. It occurs in Britain’s [...]
Whinstone is a quarryman’s term for a variety of hard, dark-coloured, rocks including basalt and chert. Here, in the Tees Valley and Cleveland, the name refers to a hard rock that is very different from the soft sedimentary strata which make up the majority of the area’s underlying geology.
Around 58 million years ago, as [...]
Grid Reference NZ 655 132
BGS Sheet 34
OS Sheet 94
Forwarded as RIGS
Site Description
Site Status SNCI
Description of Geodiversity Upland stream-side escarpment revealing deltaic sandstones specifically the Moor Grit member of the Scalby formation
Literature References
Site Map
Site Assessment
Access and Safety
Comments
Rating
Safety of access
Along designated footpath
10
Safety of exposure
Steep slopes obscured by vegetation
5
Restricting conditions
Vegetation growth in summer [...]
Grid Reference NZ 631 146
BGS Sheet 34
OS Sheet 94
Forwarded as RIGS Part of Guisborough Forest 30/09/2003
Site Description
Site Status SNCI
Brief Site Description Site 7 of 7. Disused alum quarry revealing exposures of Liassic Whitby mudstone and overlying Middle Jurassic Saltwick sandstone. Following abandonment after alum working, this quarry [...]
Grid Reference NZ 7784 192
BGS Sheet 34
OS Sheet 94
Forwarded as RIGS Part of Skinningrove to Staithes Coast 30/09/2003
Site Description
Site Status Part of the Heritage Coast
Description of Geodiversity Costal cliff nab exposure consisting of the Staithes sandstone formation which is the type locality. The foreshore to the west of the coastal defences consists [...]