Waterloo Bay is an area of foreshore in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

on the east coast of

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is of particular interest to

geologists A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

because it provides a clear, complete and accessible example of the sequences from

Upper Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. ...

Lower Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma&nb ...

, when the rock types changed from land to marine.

Geology

Early investigation

Joseph Ellison Portlock Major-General Joseph Ellison Portlock (30 September 1794 – 14 February 1864) was born at Gosport and was a British geologist and soldier, the only son of Nathaniel Portlock, and a captain in the Royal Navy. Educated at Blundell's School and t ...

studied the Triassic and Jurassic rocks of Ireland in 1843 as part of his engagement by Ordnance Survey Ireland. In 1864

Ralph Tate Ralph Tate (11 March 1840 – 20 September 1901) was a British-born botanist and geologist, who was later active in Australia. Early life Tate was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, the son of Thomas Turner Tate (1807–1888), a teacher of m ...

made an investigation of the Triassic rocks of

, which he reported to the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

Status and significance

Because the location provides an unusually clear, complete and accessible example of the sequences from Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic, when the rock types changed from land to marine, Waterloo Bay was designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest for its geological importance in 1995.Department of the Environment NI, Waterloo ASSI
/ref> In 2007, it was a candidate for

Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. The effort to define GSSPs is conducted b ...

(also known as a GSSP, or 'golden spike') to mark the base of the Jurassic system and Hettangian stage.International Commission on Stratigraphy
/ref> although the Kujoch in Austria was chosen instead.

The "Larne Sea Dragon"

In 1999, an

ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, altho ...

, also popularly known as the 'Larne Sea Dragon' or 'Minnis Monster'BBC Attic
/ref> was found in the Langport Member strata by Brian McGee. Remains were found of the backbone and rib cage, scattered pieces of the front limbs, the lower jaw, and several teeth. These were uncovered by fossil preparator Andy Cowap and put on display in the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...

.Unearthing the Larne Sea Dragon (2007) National Museums Northern Ireland
/ref> From 2007-9, while the Ulster Museum was undergoing refurbishment, the ichthyosaur was exhibited in Larne Tourist Information Centre.
/ref>

Public right of way

The promenade, a footpath between the foreshore and the low cliffs at Waterloo, is a public right of way.Council Papers Confirm Members Labelled Marina Minute Erroneous (1 Dec 2005) Larne Times
/ref>

Gallery

File:Ammonites - geograph.org.uk - 474674.jpg, Ammonites are abundant in the

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

that marks the Jurassic boundary - the primary marker at this site is the

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

Psiloceras ''Psiloceras'' is an extinct genus of ammonite. ''Psiloceras'' is among the earliest known Jurassic ammonites, and the appearance of the earliest ''Psiloceras'' species form the definition for the base of the Jurassic. Unlike most earlier ammoni ...

planorbis'' File:Slump Fold - geograph.org.uk - 474671.jpg, A slump fold in the Triassic

Mercia Mudstone Group The Mercia Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands – the name is derived from the ancient kingdom of Mercia which corresponds to t ...

File:Synaeresis Cracks - geograph.org.uk - 474655.jpg, Synaeresis cracks in the mudstone File:Ichthyosaur hharder.png, The most complete example of an ichthyosaur in Northern Ireland was discovered at Waterloo Bay, Larne

References

{{Geology of Northern Ireland Protected areas of County Antrim Geology of Northern Ireland Geology of Ireland Stratigraphy of the United Kingdom Rock formations of Northern Ireland