The NorthYork Moors
Field Excursion
8th September 2024
by Steve Livera
The trip will in the morning look at the famous and very unusual magnetic ironstone of Rosedale West as well as the ‘Top Seam’ Dogger Formation, including some unpublished petrography and a description of how the miners probably extracted the two 20m-thick deposits completely without removing the overburden in the 1860- 70’s. The ironstone helped build an extensive extraction industry, with many remains preserved in the area and illuminated by abandonment plans, Lidar and satellite imagery. Bring a magnet.
In the afternoon we will examine the Ravenscar Group (Cloughton Formation) coal pits, the Eller Beck Formation marine horizon, a chalybeate spring and then focus on some spectacular deglaciation landslips on the SW side of Fryupdale Head (image right). It may be possible to visit an in-situ Middle Jurassic coal outcrop at the end of the day, time permitting.