Lecture: The Enigmatic Huntley Quarry
Speaker:
Entry Fee
Members: Free
Visitors: £5.00
Date and Time
19:30 -
Location
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN
Lecture Description
For over 180 years geologists have been arguing over the date of this very small quarry nestling in the side of May Hill. The quarry contains the only known exposure of the Huntley Quarry Beds. These volcaniclastic sediments, sandstones with volcanic material, have been subject to intense tectonic activity due to the close proximity of the regionally important Blaisdon Fault. This fault is very well displayed in the quarry as is the folding and distortion of the Huntley Quarry Beds themselves. Importantly the age of the sediments is still unknown with a possible age range of 570 Ma to 436 Ma having being postulated. The talk will discuss the sediments and the problems of dating them.
There will be a field trip to the quarry where the Huntley Quarry Beds and the Blaisdon Fault can be examined as well as the opportunity to see the newly exposed Lower Silurian Bright’s Hill Quarry.