geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle o ...
in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, notified in 1974.Natural England SSSI information on the citation /ref>
The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Location and geology
The quarry is sited in the
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...
and provides an easily accessible exposure through c.75 metres of Drybrook
Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
. The sandstones include good sedimentary structures and fossil traces which indicate a shallow marine environment. The Drybrook Sandstone lies between the Chadian Whitehead Limestone and the overlying unconformable Coal
Measures.
The Quarry is near other similar sites and nature reserves being Merring Meend, Westbury Brook Pond, Fairplay Iron Mine and Plump Hill Dolomite Quarry.Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust'