![British](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/British.coalfields.19th.century.jpg)
The Flintshire Coalfield in north-east
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
is one of the smaller
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
coalfields. It is in the county of
Flintshire
, settlement_type = County
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and extends from the
Point of Ayr
:''There are two other similarly named points in the British Isles: Point of Ayre, Isle of Man and Point of Ayre, Orkney, Scotland.''
Point of Ayr ( cy, Y Parlwr Du) is the northernmost point of mainland Wales. It is situated immediately to ...
in the north, along the
Dee Estuary
The Dee Estuary ( cy, Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles ...
through
Connah's Quay
Connah's Quay ( cy, Cei Connah), known locally as "The Quay" and formerly known as Wepre, is a town and community in Flintshire, lying within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, near the border with England. It is the largest town in F ...
to
Caergwrle
Caergwrle () is a village in the county of Flintshire, in north east Wales. Approximately from Wrexham and situated on the A541 road, it is contiguous with the villages of Abermorddu and Hope, though in parts Caergwrle and Hope are separated b ...
in the south. A small part extends onto the
Wirral i.e.
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
coast of the estuary at
Neston
Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Ness ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
which was the site of a
coalmine
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
for a period. The coal-bearing
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
continue southwards of Caergwrle as the
Denbighshire Coalfield
The Denbighshire Coalfield in the historic county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales is one of the smaller British coalfields. It extends from near Caergwrle in the north, southwards through Wrexham, Ruabon and Rhosllannerchrugog to Chirk in th ...
. Together the two coalfields are known as the
North Wales Coalfield
The North Wales Coalfield comprises the Flintshire Coalfield in the north and the Denbighshire Coalfield in the south. It extends from Point of Ayr in the north, through the Wrexham area to Oswestry in Shropshire in the south. A much smaller a ...
.
Geology
Several
coal seam
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
s are named in the sequence. Some seams are absent in the northern part of the coalfield and are labelled as (S) whilst the others occur across the coalfield as a whole. The Chwarelau Seam which appears only in the north actually occurs within the underlying
Millstone Grit sequence rather than the
Coal Measures
In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...
proper. The seams are listed stratigraphically with the uppermost (youngest) at the head of the list and the lowermost (oldest) at the foot.
[British Geological Survey 1:10,000 geological map sheet SJ26NE, BGS, Keyworth, Notts] Local names are shown in brackets.
:Within the
Pennine Middle Coal Measures Group:
:* Upper Main (S)
:* Pontybodkin Mountain (S)
:* Tryddyn Half-Yard (S)
:* Drowsell (Massey)
:* Powell (Bind)(Bi)
:* Hollin (Cannel)(H)
:* Crank (Three Quarter)(C)(S)
:* Quaker (Brassey) (B)(S)
:* Black Bed (Rough)(R)
:* Main (Five Yard)(M)
:* Lower Bench (Three Yard)(LB)
:* Crown (Mostyn Two Yard)(Diamond)
:Within the
Pennine Lower Coal Measures Group:
:* Upper Red (Durdog)(King)(K)
:* Lower Red (Yard)(Cannel)(C)
:* Cannel (Stone)
:* Stone (divides into Wall (W) and Bench (BC)in south)(Hard Five Quarter)
:* Nant (Badger)(N)
:* Ruabon Yard (Yard)(Soft Five Quarter)(Y)
:* Premier (Bychton Two Yard)(P)
:* Llwyneinion Half Yard (Picton Three Quarter)
:Within the
Gwespyr Sandstone Formation of the
Millstone Grit Group:
:* Chwarelau (N) (Little Coal)
References
{{coord, 53.2108, -3.1232, display=title, region:GB_scale:200000
Coal mining in Wales
Geography of Flintshire
Coal mining regions in England
Coal mining regions in Wales