Earth Science Conservation Review
| Shanvin | Tyrone |
| Site Type: | Inland exposure |
| Site Status: | local interest |
| Council area: | Omagh District Council |
| Grid Reference: | H212733 |
| Google maps: | 54.60793,-7.6719 |
| Rocks | |
|---|---|
| Rock Age: | Carboniferous (Arundian, Visean) |
| Rock Name: | Ballyshannon Limestone Formation, Bundoran Shale Formation, Ederny Limestone Member, Skea Sandstone Member, Tyrone Group |
| Rock Type: | Limestone, Sand, Sandstone |
| Interest | |
| Other interest: | Marine sediments |
Summary of site:
The Bundoran Shale Formation is a major component of the Carboniferous succession in the north west of Ireland. Its rocks are dated to the Arundian stage, determined by fossils and they are around 345 million years old.
In the Kesh/Ederny area there is a thin sandstone at its base varying in thickness from 1.5 to 4.5 m and this subdivision is recognised as the Skea Sandstone Member. The sandstone rests directly on the Ederny Limestone Member of the preceding Ballyshannon Limestone Formation. At this locality it commences with an orange clay that passes quickly into gritty orange-stained sandstones that give way to 4.2 m of sandstones, mostly obscured.
Despite the covering vegetation, this is the best exposure of the Skea Sandstone Member and satisfactorily defines its base. For this reason it has been selected as the stratotype for the member, the defining succession against which all other outcrops of the member are compared.
Stratotypes are the essential building blocks of geological history and should therefore be protected.
In the Kesh/Ederny area there is a thin sandstone at its base varying in thickness from 1.5 to 4.5 m and this subdivision is recognised as the Skea Sandstone Member. The sandstone rests directly on the Ederny Limestone Member of the preceding Ballyshannon Limestone Formation. At this locality it commences with an orange clay that passes quickly into gritty orange-stained sandstones that give way to 4.2 m of sandstones, mostly obscured.
Despite the covering vegetation, this is the best exposure of the Skea Sandstone Member and satisfactorily defines its base. For this reason it has been selected as the stratotype for the member, the defining succession against which all other outcrops of the member are compared.
Stratotypes are the essential building blocks of geological history and should therefore be protected.
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2024. Shanvin, County Tyrone, site summary. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/summary.php?item=229. Accessed on 2024-12-26 |
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