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.
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.
Overview
The Cleveland Ironstone Formation comprises a sequence of marine ironstone seams interbedded with shale and siltstone units which collectively form a part of the Lower Jurassic System of rocks underlying Cleveland and North Yorkshire. Exploitation of the ironstone seams became a major driving force behind the industrialisation of the Teesside district during the mid- to [...]
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 [...]
Iron makes up a full 35% of the whole Earth, though most is sequestered within the metallic core, with the crust containing around 6%. It is an important rock commercially, being smelted to make iron and steel. High grade deposits, often comprising more than 70% iron, were laid down in the Precambrian, around 2 billion [...]
Welcome to the Tees Valley RIGS Group Website.
The place for you to find out more about the geology and industrial heritage of Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough,
Stockton, Hartlepool and Darlington.
Alum, Alchemy and Ammonites Page
Future Events Page
Past Events Page
Why not check out our new site description pages and geo-trails
Boulby – Cowbar Hummersea Loftus [...]
The history of local ironstone mining and the development of the Tees Valley are intimately linked.
The History of Ironworking in The Tees Valley
The earliest smelting of ironstone in the area is traceable to c.400BC, and the Iron Age, [...]
Grid Reference NZ 643 158
BGS Sheet 34
OS Sheet 94
Forwarded as RIGS 30/09/2003
Site Description
Site Status
Description of Geodiversity Exposures of Main Seam Cleveland Ironstone Formation (bottom block) beside bridge footings below Fox & Hounds public house. A small waterfall immediately upstream may exist due to presence of the Pecten Seam. The area has [...]