Tag Archives: Jurassic

June – Alum Shale

Alum Shale occurs within the upper 35 metres or so of the Whitby Mudstone Formation. A suite of rocks that originated as soft sediment accumulating on the floor of an ancient sea (the Tethys) which occupied this area between c.188 million and c.182 million years ago during the late Lower Jurassic phase of Earth’s geological [...]

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March – Ironstone

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 [...]

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A Geological Timescale

GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE
Shown below is a representation of the rocks underlying the Tees Valley and Darlington districts in Northeast England. The diagram depicts the relative thickness of the different systems. Absolute ages are given alongside. Click on the different areas to view more details about a particular time period.

Geological column showing the relative thickness and absolute [...]

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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 [...]

Ironstone

Fan House, Grinkle Ironstone Mine and used for ventilation of the Grinkle Ironstone Mine which operated from 1865 to 1934. One of the few remains of the mine left, having been obliterated by the Cleveland Potash development.    © Copyright Mick Garratt and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence


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, [...]

Alum

Loftus alum quarry (foreground) with Warsett Hill and Huntcliff in the distance.

The Alum Trade
The Alum Shale Member forms the upper part of the Whitby Mudstone Formation and was deposited in a reasonably well-oxygenated marine environment around 186 million years ago.The shales were extensively quarried between c.1604 and 1871 for the Alum trade which flourished here on the coast [...]

Jurassic

Cleveland Coast

Rocks of Jurassic age crop out exclusively south of the River Tees, with both Lower and Middle Jurassic successions well represented. The rocks indicate an episode of marine sedimentation, represented by the Lias Group, followed by alternating cycles of deltaic and marine sedimentation represented by the overlying Ravenscar Group.
Marker on the Cleveland Way east of [...]

Geological periods

The word Geology comes from the ancient Greek, Ge (γη) meaning Earth (not to be confused with Gaia (Γαια) the Greek Earth goddess) and Logos (λογος) meaning word or study of, amongst other things. So Geology literally means Study of the Earth.
The the addition of the letter ‘o’ to spell geo was simply to [...]

Slapewath

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 [...]

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Woodhill Gill

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 [...]

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