Holwell Quarries

Holwell Quarries
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Shown within Somerset
Area of Search Somerset
Grid reference ST726450
Coordinates 51°12′13″N 2°23′37″W / 51.20355°N 2.39357°W / 51.20355; -2.39357Coordinates: 51°12′13″N 2°23′37″W / 51.20355°N 2.39357°W / 51.20355; -2.39357
Interest Geological
Area 1.3 hectares (0.013 km2; 0.0050 sq mi)
Notification 1952 (1952)
Natural England website

Holwell Quarries (grid reference ST726450) is a 1.3 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Holwell near Nunney on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1952.

Holwell Quarries represent an internationally important geological locality. A comprehensive assemblage of Triassic (including Rhaetic), Lower Jurassic and Middle Jurassic fissure fillings are well displayed. The Rhaetic fissure fillings have yielded the richest assemblage of vertebrate faunas known from the British Triassic. Fissure deposits have also yielded 8 or 9 genera of Reptiles: a Crocodilian, a Placodont (the first record in Britain of this sub-order), and the dinosaurs Thecodontosaurus and Palaeosaurus. The Lower Jurassic fissure fillings yield ammonites and brachiopods which are important in dating these deposits.

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, July 30, 2012. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.