Highlights of the Jurassic Coast
The Dorset Coast of southern England has (quite rightly) become one of the classic areas for geology, with almost continuous successions through from the Middle Triassic to Late Cretaceous. The details of the sections to be visited may change somewhat depending on the quality of different coastal exposures, but we would plan to visit:
- The Hettangian and Sinemurian of Lyme Regis. This succession of open marine limestones and mudstones has yielded one of the most important Early Jurassic vertebrate faunas known, as well as abundant faunas of ammonites, bivalves and other invertebrates.
- The Lower Pliensbachian of Seatown. Marine mudstones contain rich and diverse faunas of ammonites, belemnites and trace fossils, as well as other invertebrate groups.
- The Upper Toarcian to Lower Bathonian of Burton Bradstock (or an inland quarry). There are dramatic contrasts between the expanded marine sands with few fossils of the Toarcian and the highly condensed and extremely fossiliferous limestones of the Aalenian to basal Bathonian, containing many ammonites, bivalves, brachiopods, sponges and other fossils.
- The Tithonian of Portland. This headland exposes oolitic limestones of the Portland stone and overlying Purbeck Group lagoonal facies, as well as an unconformable Pliestocene shelly raised beach deposits and giving great views across central Dorset.
- The Oxfordian of Osmington. The Corallian group comprises very diverse shallow marine rocks, including limestones, sandstones and mudstones, many of them with very rich mollusc and trace fossil assemblages.
- The Kimmeridgian of Kimmeridge. The Type section for the stage comprises laminates mudstones with numerous ammonites and some other molluscs, as well as having yielded many marine vertebrates.
- The uppermost Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous of Lulworth. Eroded inversion structures expose a large part of the stratigraphy of the area from Tithonian to Turonian, in rocks ranging from fluvial to deep marine. Many are fossiliferous, especially the lagoonal and freshwater facies of the basal Cretaceous Purbeck Group which contains many freshwater molluscs, microfossils and bits of vertebrate.
Other details
Dates: June 26-28 2010
Pick up from London (place tba) 09.00 26 June, return to London 19.00 28 June
Maximum number of participants: 21
Minimum number of participants: 8
Cost
£270 (single room Bed and Breakfast)
£220 (shared or double room Bed and Breakfast)