The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details

Bellochantuy Bay Formation

Computer Code: BELB Preferred Map Code: BELB
Status Code: Full
Age range: Permian Period (P) — Permian Period (P)
Lithological Description: Bright red friable sandstone, with thin layers composed of well-rounded and polished grains of quartz, interbedded with beds of breccia. Clasts within the breccia are of vein quartz, quartzite and mica-schist. The sandstone may contain facetted pebbles [of dreikanter type]. Cross-bedding [false-bedding] is a conspicuous feature of the sandstone, which is interpreted as an aeolian sand-dune deposit. Greyish-white sandstone with a calcareous cement is noted at Muasdale [NR675 395].
Definition of Lower Boundary: Unconformably overlies Dalradian metasedimentary rocks.
Definition of Upper Boundary: Overlying rocks no longer preserved.
Thickness: The proven minimum thickness of the formation exposed in the roadside cliff at Bellochantuy is 6m [18ft] [Pringle, 1952]. However, this is considered only to be the edge of strata that extend under the sea and are continuous with other exposures of the Formation along the Kintyre coast [Pringle, 1952].
Geographical Limits: Coastal exposures on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula, Argyll, Scotland.
Parent Unit: Stewartry Group (STEW)
Previous Name(s): Upper Old Red Sandstone (UORS)
Upper Old Red Sandstone (UORS)
Alternative Name(s): none recorded or not applicable
Stratotypes:
Type Section  Coastal exposures, west coast of Kintyre Peninsula between Killean and Bellochantuy, Argyllshire, Scotland. 
Reference(s):
Pringle, J, 1952. On the occurrence of Permian rocks in Islay and north Kintyre. Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society, Vol.14, 297-301. 
British Geological Survey. 1996. Sound of Gigha. Scotland Sheet 20 and part of 21W. Solid and Drift Geology. 1:50 000 Provisional Series. (Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey.) 
McCallien, W J. 1927. Preliminary account of the post-Dalradian geology of Kintyre. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow, Vol.18, 40-126. 
1:50K maps on which the lithostratigraphical unit is found, and map code used:
S020