Nibley Knoll

Nibley Knoll
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Long distance view to Nibley Knoll and Wotton Hill
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	ST744956
Coordinates	51°39′33″N 2°22′15″W / 51.659048°N 2.370763°W / 51.659048; -2.370763Coordinates: 51°39′33″N 2°22′15″W / 51.659048°N 2.370763°W / 51.659048; -2.370763
Interest	Geological
Area	3.2 hectare
Notification	1974
Natural England website

Nibley Knoll (grid reference ST744956) is a 3.2-hectare (7.9-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1974.^[1] The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 (online for download) as an SSSI and a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).^[2]

Location and geology

The site is in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is a significant geological location which shows a thick section of Lower and Middle Jurassic rocks. These span the junction between the Aalenian and Bajocian Stages.The lowest stratum which may be seen is the Cotswold Sand Formation of the Upper Lias. This is exposed in the sunken lane cuttings. The section above, which is the Cephalopod bed (top of the Aalenian Stage), is similar to the exposures on Wotton Hill. The Lower Inferior Oolite Freestones, are topped by 'hardground', which is a thin layer of tough limestone which is encrusted with fossil mollusc shells. One of the best fossiliferous sections is the Upper Trigonia Grit, which lies above the Freestone. There is an absence of Middle Inferior Oolite as a result of the effect of an important phase of uplift (warping) of the crust during the Lower Bajocian time interval. This demonstrates an important phase in earth movement in the region.^[1]

References

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)

On top of Nibley Knoll
Nibley Knoll grassland and wood
View from Nibley Knoll

Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire

Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

Alderton Hill Quarry Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill Campden Tunnel Gravel Pit Cleeve Common Coaley Wood Quarries Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake Easter Park Farm Quarry Edgehills Quarry Foss Cross Quarry Garden Cliff Hampen Railway Cutting Haresfield Beacon Harford Railway Cutting Hobbs Quarry Hornsleasow Quarry Huntsman's Quarry Jackdaw Quarry Kemble Railway Cuttings Knap House Quarry, Birdlip Land Grove Quarry, Mitcheldean Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common Longhope Hill Lower Woods Lower Wye Gorge Lydney Cliff May Hill Meezy Hurst Minchinhampton Common New Park Quarry Nibley Knoll Notgrove Railway Cutting Oakenhill Railway Cutting Puddlebrook Quarry River Wye Robin's Wood Hill Quarry Rodborough Common Salmonsbury Meadows Scully Grove Quarry Severn Estuary Slade Brook Stenders Quarry Stony Furlong Railway Cutting Swift's Hill Upper Severn Estuary The Malvern Hills Purton Passage Selsley Common Upper Wye Gorge Veizey's Quarry Wainlode Cliff Wellacre Quarry Wood Green Quarry & Railway Cutting Wotton Hill

Neighbouring areas Avon Hereford and Worcester Oxfordshire Wiltshire

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