Earth Science Conservation Review
| Western Mournes Complex - Kilbroney River Valley Moraines | Down |
| Site Type: | Inland exposure |
| Site Status: | TBC |
| Grid Reference: | J234273,J178181 |
| Google maps: | 54.18031,-6.10997 |
| Rocks | |
|---|---|
| Rock Age: | Quaternary (Late Midlandian) |
| Interest | |
| Other interest: | cross-valley moraine, recessional moraine |
Summary of site:
These deposits are part of the general picture described in the regional overview (Key Site 450).
Rostrevor is built on a series of moraines, great banks of debris, released by the melting glaciers flowing down the Ghann and Kilbroney valleys in the final stages of the last glaciation. The southern part of the town sits on the largest of the moraines, a great curved mound 600m wide and over 30m high. Further moraines behind and in the northern part of the town are cut by a series of channels, around 30m wide, carved by torrential meltwaters from the glaciers as they decayed and retreated up their valleys. Later moraines, built of the boulders, gravels and sand carried on the flanks of the Kilbroney glacier, were dumped in the same glacial retreat and can be traced on both sides of the valley for over 4km. Smaller frontal moraines of the retreating glacier can be seen on the floor of the valley in the form of slightly curved or straight ridges and steps.
Rostrevor is built on a series of moraines, great banks of debris, released by the melting glaciers flowing down the Ghann and Kilbroney valleys in the final stages of the last glaciation. The southern part of the town sits on the largest of the moraines, a great curved mound 600m wide and over 30m high. Further moraines behind and in the northern part of the town are cut by a series of channels, around 30m wide, carved by torrential meltwaters from the glaciers as they decayed and retreated up their valleys. Later moraines, built of the boulders, gravels and sand carried on the flanks of the Kilbroney glacier, were dumped in the same glacial retreat and can be traced on both sides of the valley for over 4km. Smaller frontal moraines of the retreating glacier can be seen on the floor of the valley in the form of slightly curved or straight ridges and steps.
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2025. Western Mournes Complex - Kilbroney River Valley Moraines, County Down, site summary. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/summary.php?item=455. Accessed on 2025-01-13 |
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