Earth Science Conservation Review
| Faughan and Dungiven Basins - Cumber | Londonderry |
| Site Type: | Inland exposure |
| Site Status: | TBC |
| Grid Reference: | C557056 |
| Google maps: | 54.89542,-7.13186 |
| Rocks | |
|---|---|
| Rock Age: | Quaternary |
| Rock Type: | Gravel, Sand |
| Interest | |
| Other interest: | Glacio-fluvial sediment, deltaic foresets |
Summary of site:
In an area around Cumber, south south east of Claudy, there is a flat-topped feature of around 4kmē, consisting of sands and gravels, lying in a hollow in the local bedrock.
After a period of deposition following the initial ice retreat, ice dammed the Faughan valley creating a glacial lake with a surface 126m above modern sea level. Meltwater flowing into the lake (probably from the south) carried glacial debris, creating possibly two flat-topped deltas of cross-bedded and ripple-marked sands which were then violently scoured into channels by torrential flow and later filled with cobble and pebble gravels. This episode was followed, after the lake had drained, by a period of intense cold when the deposit froze to depth and ice wedges were able to form (six have been seen in the area).
After a period of deposition following the initial ice retreat, ice dammed the Faughan valley creating a glacial lake with a surface 126m above modern sea level. Meltwater flowing into the lake (probably from the south) carried glacial debris, creating possibly two flat-topped deltas of cross-bedded and ripple-marked sands which were then violently scoured into channels by torrential flow and later filled with cobble and pebble gravels. This episode was followed, after the lake had drained, by a period of intense cold when the deposit froze to depth and ice wedges were able to form (six have been seen in the area).
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2024. Faughan and Dungiven Basins - Cumber, County Londonderry, site summary. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/summary.php?item=504. Accessed on 2024-12-26 |
| Previous Site | Next Site |