Kimmeridge Clay

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The Kimmeridge Clay Formation is, arguably, the most economically important unit of rocks in the whole of Europe, being the major source rock for oil fields in the North Sea hydrocarbon province. It has distinctive physical properties, log responses, and palynological signature.

It is named for the village of Kimmeridge on the Dorset coast of England, where it is well exposed. It is a sedimentary deposit, laid down in the Jurassic Period and is represented across England, in a band stretching from Dorset in the southwest northeastward to East Anglia.

The Humber Bridge's foundations are in the Kimmeridge Clay deposits under the Humber estuary.

Where it is best-known is in Dorset, where it forms part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.